For use in combination with a heat engine, a thermalenergy transformer is presented. It is comprised of a flux receiver having a first wall defining therein a radiation absorption cavity for converting solar flux to thermalenergy, and a second wall defining an energy transfer wall for the heat engine. There is a heat pipe chamber interposed between the first and second walls having a working fluid disposed within the chamber and a wick lining the chamber for conducting the working fluid from the second wall to the first wall. Thermalenergy is transferred from the radiation absorption cavity to the heat engine.

Presents exercises that analyze the additive property of energy. Concludes that if a body has more than one component of energy depending on the same physical quantity, the body's total energy will be the algebraic sum of the components if a linear relationship exists between the energy components and that physical quantity. (JRH)

The general scope of study on thermalenergy storage development includes: (1) survey and review possible concepts for storing thermalenergy; (2) evaluate the potentials of the surveyed concepts for practical applications in the low and high temperature ranges for thermal control and storage, with particular emphasis on the low temperature range, and designate the most promising concepts; and (3) determine the nature of further studies required to expeditiously convert the most promising concept(s) to practical applications. Cryogenic temperature control by means of energy storage materials was also included.

The planning and implementation of activities associated with lead center management role and the technical accomplishments pertaining to high temperature thermalenergy storage subsystems are described. Major elements reported are: (1) program definition and assessment; (2) research and technology development; (3) industrial storage applications; (4) solar thermal power storage applications; and (5) building heating and cooling applications.

Describes Ocean ThermalEnergy Conservation (OTEC) as a method for exploiting the temperature difference between warm surface waters of the sea and its cold depths. Argues for full-scale demonstrations of the technique for producing energy for coastal regions. (TW)

A brief explanation of the Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) concept and an estimate of the amount of energy that can be produced from the ocean resource without introducing environmental concerns are presented. Use of the OTEC system to generate electric power and products which can replace fossil fuels is shown. The OTEC program status and its prospects for the future are discussed.

Meet AMIE - the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy demonstration project. Led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and many industry partners, the AMIE project changes the way we think about generating, storing, and using electrical power. AMIE uses an integrated energy system that shares energy between a building and a vehicle. And, utilizing advanced manufacturing and rapid innovation, it only took one year from concept to launch.

Meet AMIE - the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy demonstration project. Led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and many industry partners, the AMIE project changes the way we think about generating, storing, and using electrical power. AMIE uses an integrated energy system that shares energy between a building and a vehicle. And, utilizing advanced manufacturing and rapid innovation, it only took one year from concept to launch.

A thermalenergy storage material which is stable at atmospheric temperature and pressure and has a melting point higher than 32.degree.F. is prepared by dissolving a specific class of clathrate forming compounds, such as tetra n-propyl or tetra n-butyl ammonium fluoride, in water to form a substantially solid clathrate. The resultant thermalenergy storage material is capable of absorbing heat from or releasing heat to a given region as it transforms between solid and liquid states in response to temperature changes in the region above and below its melting point.

A plurality of heat pipes in a shell receive concentrated solar energy and transfer the energy to a heat activated system. To provide for even distribution of the energy despite uneven impingement of solar energy on the heat pipes, absence of solar energy at times, or failure of one or more of the heat pipes, energy storage means are disposed on the heat pipes which extend through a heat pipe thermal coupling means into the heat activated device. To enhance energy transfer to the heat activated device, the heat pipe coupling cavity means may be provided with extensions into the device. For use with a Stirling engine having passages for working gas, heat transfer members may be positioned to contact the gas and the heat pipes. The shell may be divided into sections by transverse walls. To prevent cavity working fluid from collecting in the extensions, a porous body is positioned in the cavity.

A thermalenergy storage composition is provided which is in the form of a gel. The composition includes a phase change material and silica particles, where the phase change material may comprise a linear alkyl hydrocarbon, water/urea, or water. The thermalenergy storage composition has a high thermal conductivity, high thermalenergy storage, and may be used in a variety of applications such as in thermal shipping containers and gel packs.

A microwavable thermalenergy storage material is provided which includes a mixture of a phase change material and silica, and a carbon black additive in the form of a conformable dry powder of phase change material/silica/carbon black, or solid pellets, films, fibers, moldings or strands of phase change material/high density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate/silica/carbon black which allows the phase change material to be rapidly heated in a microwave oven. The carbon black additive, which is preferably an electrically conductive carbon black, may be added in low concentrations of from 0.5 to 15% by weight, and may be used to tailor the heating times of the phase change material as desired. The microwavable thermalenergy storage material can be used in food serving applications such as tableware items or pizza warmers, and in medical wraps and garments. 3 figs.

A microwavable thermalenergy storage material is provided which includes a mixture of a phase change material and silica, and a carbon black additive in the form of a conformable dry powder of phase change material/silica/carbon black, or solid pellets, films, fibers, moldings or strands of phase change material/high density polyethylene/ethylene-vinyl acetate/silica/carbon black which allows the phase change material to be rapidly heated in a microwave oven. The carbon black additive, which is preferably an electrically conductive carbon black, may be added in low concentrations of from 0.5 to 15% by weight, and may be used to tailor the heating times of the phase change material as desired. The microwavable thermalenergy storage material can be used in food serving applications such as tableware items or pizza warmers, and in medical wraps and garments.

The ThermalEnergy Conversion Branch (5490) leads the way in designing, conducting, and implementing research for the newest thermal systems used in space applications at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Specifically some of the most advanced technologies developed in this branch can be broken down into four main areas: Dynamic Power Systems, Primary Solar Concentrators, Secondary Solar Concentrators, and Thermal Management. Work was performed in the Dynamic Power Systems area, specifically the Stirling Engine subdivision. Today, the main focus of the 5490 branch is free-piston Stirling cycle converters, Brayton cycle nuclear reactors, and heat rejection systems for long duration mission spacecraft. All space exploring devices need electricity to operate. In most space applications, heat energy from radioisotopes is converted to electrical power. The Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) already supplies electricity for missions such as the Cassini Spacecraft. The focus of today's Stirling research at GRC is aimed at creating an engine that can replace the RTG. The primary appeal of the Stirling engine is its high system efficiency. Because it is so efficient, the Stirling engine will significantly reduce the plutonium fuel mission requirements compared to the RTG. Stirling is also being considered for missions such as the lunar/Mars bases and rovers. This project has focused largely on Stirling Engines of all types, particularly the fluidyne liquid piston engine. The fluidyne was developed by Colin D. West. This engine uses the same concepts found in any type of Stirling engine, with the exception of missing mechanical components. All the working components are fluid. One goal was to develop and demonstrate a working Stirling Fluidyne Engine at the 2nd Annual International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference in Providence, Rhode Island.

The purpose of the Aquifer ThermalEnergy Storage Demonstration Program is to stimulate the interest of industry by demonstrating the feasibility of using a geological formation for seasonal thermalenergy storage, thereby, reducing crude oil consumption, minimizing thermal pollution, and significantly reducing utility capital investments required to account for peak power requirements. This purpose will be served if several diverse projects can be operated which will demonstrate the technical, economic, environmental, and institutional feasibility of aquifer thermalenergy storage systems.

In this paper, the impacts of abnormal thermal property introduced by additive manufacture has been analysis based on simulation and experiment of a 3D printed liquid-cooled heat sink. Comparisons to the heat sink with identical geometry and conventionally manufactured by Aluminum 6061 are presented. Micro-structure analysis is implemented and solutions to eliminate the impacts by different manufacture methods are proposed.

This study was undertaken to investigate the potential for reducing use of electrical energy at lumber dry kilns by reducing fan speeds part way through the lumber drying process. It included three tasks: to quantify energy savings at a typical mill through field tests; to investigate the level of electric energy use at a representative sample of other mills and thereby to estimate the transferability of the conservation to the region; and to prepare a guidebook to present the technology to mill operators, and to allow them to estimate the economic value of adopting the technique at their facilities. This document reports on the first two tasks.

The thermal behavior of prototype thermalenergy storage units (TES) in both heating and cooling modes is determined. Improved and advanced storage systems are developed and performance standards are proposed. The design and construction of a thermal cycling facility for determining the thermal behavior of full scale TES units is described. The facility has the capability for testing with both liquid and air heat transport, at variable heat input/extraction rates, over a temperature range of 0 to 280 F.

In this study, we demonstrate the concept of a new hybrid energy harvesting system by combing solar cells with magneto-thermoelectric generator (MTG, i.e., thermalenergy harvesting). The silicon solar cell can easily reach high temperature under normal operating conditions. Thus the heated solar cell becomes rapidly less efficient as the temperature of solar cell rises. To increase the efficiency of the solar cell, air or water-based cooling system is used. To surpass conventional cooling devices requiring additional power as well as large working space for air/water collectors, we develop a new technology of pairing an active thermal backplane (ATB) to solar cell. The ATB design is based on MTG technology utilizing the physics of the 2nd order phase transition of active ferromagnetic materials. The MTG is cost-effective conversion of thermalenergy to electrical energy and is fundamentally different from Seebeck TEG devices. The ATB (MTG) is in addition to being an energy conversion system, a very good conveyor of heat through both conduction and convection. Therefore, the ATB can provide dual-mode for the proposed hybrid energy harvesting. One is active convective and conductive cooling for heated solar cell. Another is active thermalenergy harvesting from heat of solar cell. These novel hybrid energy harvesting device have potentially simultaneous energy conversion capability of solar and thermalenergy into electricity. The results presented can be used for better understanding of hybrid energy harvesting system that can be integrated into commercial applications.

The Ocean Thermal Extractable Energy Visualization (OTEEV) project focuses on assessing the Maximum Practicably Extractable Energy (MPEE) from the world’s ocean thermal resources. MPEE is defined as being sustainable and technically feasible, given today’s state-of-the-art ocean energy technology. Under this project the OTEEV team developed a comprehensive Geospatial Information System (GIS) dataset and software tool, and used the tool to provide a meaningful assessment of MPEE from the global and domestic U.S. ocean thermal resources.

Energy Research and Development Administration research progress in Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) is outlined. The development program is being focused on cost effective heat exchangers; ammonia is generally used as the heat exchange fluid. Projected costs for energy production by OTEC vary between $1000 to $1700 per kW.

A thermalenergy storage device for use in a pulsed power supply to store waste heat produced in a high-power burst operation utilizes lithium hydride as the phase change thermalenergy storage material. The device includes an outer container encapsulating the lithium hydride and an inner container supporting a hydrogen sorbing sponge material such as activated carbon. The inner container is in communication with the interior of the outer container to receive hydrogen dissociated from the lithium hydride at elevated temperatures.

The Seasonal ThermalEnergy Storage (STES) Program designed to demonstrate the storage and retrieval of energy on a seasonal basis using heat or cold available from waste or other sources during a surplus period is described. Factors considered include reduction of peak period demand and electric utility load problems and establishment of favorable economics for district heating and cooling systems for commercialization of the technology. The initial thrust of the STES Program toward utilization of ground water systems (aquifers) for thermalenergy storage is emphasized.

The development of low cost thermalenergy storage technologies is discussed in terms of near term oil savings, solar energy applications, and dispersed energy systems for energy conservation policies. Program definition and assessment and research and technology development are considered along with industrial storage, solar thermal power storage, building heating and cooling, and seasonal thermal storage. A bibliography on seasonal thermalenergy storage emphasizing aquifer thermalenergy is included.

The extraction of thermalenergy from large LWR and coal fired plants for long distance transport to industrial and residential/commercial users is analyzed. Transport of thermalenergy as high temperature water is shown to be considerably cheaper than transport as steam, hot oil, or molten salt over a wide temperature range. The delivered heat is competitive with user-generated heat from oil, coal, or electrode boilers at distances well over 50 km when the pipeline operates at high capacity factor. Results indicate that thermalenergy storage makes meeting of even very low capacity factor heat demands economic and feasible and gives the utility flexibility to meet coincident electricity and heat demands effectively.

Ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) is reviewed briefly. The two types of OTEC system (open and closed) are described and limitations are pointed out. A bibliography of 148 references on OTEC is given for the time period 1975 to 1980. Entries are arranged alphabetically according to the author's name. (MJJ)

Thermalenergy storage devices, systems, and thermalenergy storage device monitoring methods are described. According to one aspect, a thermalenergy storage device includes a reservoir configured to hold a thermalenergy storage medium, a temperature control system configured to adjust a temperature of the thermalenergy storage medium, and a state observation system configured to provide information regarding an energy state of the thermalenergy storage device at a plurality of different moments in time.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sponsored applied research, development, and demonstration of technologies aimed at reducing energy consumption and encouraging replacement of premium fuels (notably oil) with renewable or abundant indigenous fuels. One of the technologies identified as being able to contribute to these goals is thermalenergy storage (TES). Based on the potential for TES to contribute to the historic mission of the DOE and to address emerging energy issues related to the environment, a program to develop specific TES technologies for diurnal, industrial, and seasonal applications is underway. Currently, the program is directed toward three major application targets: (1) TES development for efficient off-peak building heating and cooling, (2) development of advanced TES building materials, and (3) TES development to reduce industrial energy consumption.

Consideration is given to the development of an experimental program to study heat transfer, energy storage, fluid movement, and void location under microgravity. Plans for experimental flight packages containing ThermalEnergy Storage (TES) material applicable for advanced solar heat receivers are discussed. Candidate materials for TES include fluoride salts, salt eutectics, silicides, and metals. The development of a three-dimensional computer program to describe TES material behavior undergoing melting and freezing under microgravity is also discussed. The TES experiment concept and plans for ground and flight tests are outlined.

Thermal stresses and reradiation reduced. Improved design for solar thermal-energy receiver overcomes three major deficiencies of solar dynamic receivers described in literature. Concentrator and receiver part of solar-thermal-energy system. Receiver divided into radiation section and storage section. Concentrated solar radiation falls on boiling ends of heat pipes, which transmit heat to thermal-energy-storage medium. Receiver used in number of applications to produce thermalenergy directly for use or to store thermalenergy for subsequent use in heat engine.

Polyimides widely used as high-performance polymers because of their excellent thermal stability and toughness. However, their coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE's) greater than those of metals, ceramics, and glasses. Decreasing CTE's of polyimides increase usefulness for aerospace and electronics applications in which dimensional stability required. Additives containing metal ions reduce coefficients of thermal expansion of polyimides. Reductions range from 11 to over 100 percent.

Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) transforms the solar heating of the ocean surface into electrical energy, either transmitting it to shore or using it to manufacture energy-intensive products such as aluminum, ammonia, hydrogen or magnesium at sea. Open-cycle systems, requiring extremely large turbines and degasifiers, are not thought to be as advanced as closed-cycle systems which use heat exchangers (either shell-and-tube or plate) that are made of titanium, stainless steel or aluminum alloys, which must minimize corrosion and biofouling, and that use ammonia, propane or fluorocarbons as working fluids. OTEC platform configurations include ship shapes and submersibles, such as spar buoys, and require cold-water pipes 1,000 m long, made of such materials as elastomers, lightweight concrete and fiberglass-reinforced plastic.

Ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) is a promising technology for production of energy and usable by-products from solar-generated temperature gradients in the world's oceans. Although considered benign compared to alternative forms of energy generation, deployment of OTEC plants will result in interactions with marine, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments and in socioeconomic interactions with surrounding areas. The Ocean Energy Technology Program of the Department of Energy has funded research to improve the understanding of these interactions. No insurmountable environmental obstacle to OTEC deployment has been uncovered. This document contains a summary of that research for entrepreneurs, utility engineers, and others interested in pursuing OTEC's potential. In addition, it provides a guide to permits, regulations, and licenses applicable to construction of an OTEC plant.

The principles underlying ocean thermal-energy conversion (OTEC) are reviewed, and a schematic layout of a system is included. The two systems currently under study, the open system and the closed system, are described. The prospect now, it is noted, is that OTEC plants will not be commercially viable on a widespread basis, even in the tropics. This is especially true of the large-scale plants that have been envisioned. A strong possibility is seen, however, that smaller plants, generating about 40 megawatts of electrical power, can survive commercially. The following conditions would favor their success: placement on land rather than at sea; placement in areas (such as islands) where alternative energy supplies are at a premium; and designing the plant to operate in conjunction with either an aquaculture or a desalination plant.

A thermally powered electrical generating system for use in a space vehicle is disclosed. The rate of storage in a thermalenergy storage medium is controlled by varying the rate of generation and dissipation of electrical energy in a thermally powered electrical generating system which is powered from heat stored in the thermalenergy storage medium without exceeding a maximum quantity of heat. A control system (10) varies the rate at which electrical energy is generated by the electrical generating system and the rate at which electrical energy is consumed by a variable parasitic electrical load to cause storage of an amount of thermalenergy in the thermalenergy storage system at the end of a period of insolation which is sufficient to satisfy the scheduled demand for electrical power to be generated during the next period of eclipse. The control system is based upon Kalman filter theory.

In this paper we present the measurement of temperature differences between the ambient air and the body temperature of a sheep (Heidschnucke) and its applicability for thermoelectric energy harvesting from livestock, demonstrated via the test of a specially tailored TEG system in a real-life experiment. In three measurement campaigns average temperature differences were found between 2.5 K and 3.5 K. Analytical models and FEM simulations were carried out to determine the actual thermal resistance of the sheep's fur from comparisons with the temperature measurements. With these data a thermoelectric (TEG) generator was built in a thermally optimized housing with adapted heats sink. The whole TEG system was mounted to a collar, including a data logger for recording temperature and TEG voltage. First measurements at the neck of a sheep were accomplished, with a calculated maximal average power output of 173 μW at the TEG. Taking the necessity of a low-voltage step-up converter into account, an electric output power of 54 μW is available which comes close to the power consumption of a low-power VHF tracking system.

The thermalenergy management processes experiment (TEMP) will demonstrate that through the use of two-phase flow technology, thermal systems can be significantly enhanced by increasing heat transport capabilities at reduced power consumption while operating within narrow temperature limits. It has been noted that such phenomena as excess fluid puddling, priming, stratification, and surface tension effects all tend to mask the performance of two-phase flow systems in a 1-g field. The flight experiment approach would be to attack the experiment to an appropriate mounting surface with a 15 to 20 meter effective length and provide a heat input and output station in the form of heaters and a radiator. Using environmental data, the size, location, and orientation of the experiment can be optimized. The approach would be to provide a self-contained panel and mount it to the STEP through a frame. A small electronics package would be developed to interface with the STEP avionics for command and data handling. During the flight, heaters on the evaporator will be exercised to determine performance. Flight data will be evaluated against the ground tests to determine any anomalous behavior.

A passive solar thermalization and thermalenergy storage assembly which is visually transparent is described. The assembly consists of two substantial parallel, transparent wall members mounted in a rectangular support frame to form a liquid-tight chamber. A semitransparent thermalization plate is located in the chamber, substantially paralled to and about equidistant from the transparent wall members to thermalize solar radiation which is stored in a transparent thermalenergy storage liquid which fills the chamber. A number of the devices, as modules, can be stacked together to construct a visually transparent, thermal storage wall for passive solar-heated buildings.

A passive solar thermalization and thermalenergy storage assembly which is visually transparent. The assembly consists of two substantial parallel, transparent wall members mounted in a rectangular support frame to form a liquid-tight chamber. A semitransparent thermalization plate is located in the chamber, substantially paralled to and about equidistant from the transparent wall members to thermalize solar radiation which is stored in a transparent thermalenergy storage liquid which fills the chamber. A number of the devices, as modules, can be stacked together to construct a visually transparent, thermal storage wall for passive solar-heated buildings.

It is shown how the thermal synchrotron emission spectrum is modified when the photon energy is greater than the mean energy of the radiating particles. The effect if applying this energy conservation constraint is to produce spectra which have less high-energy photon emission than had been previously estimated. The thermal synchrotron spectra provide satisfactory fits to recently observed very high energy gamma ray spectra of certain burst sources.

Cogeneration is playing an increasingly important role in providing energy efficient power generation and thermalenergy for space heating and industrial process heat applications. However, the range of applications for cogeneration could be further increased if the generation of electricity could be decoupled from the generation of process heat. Thermalenergy storage (TES) can decouple power generation from the production of process heat, allowing the production of dispatchable power while fully utilizing the thermalenergy available from the prime mover. The Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) leads the US Department of Energy's ThermalEnergy Storage Program. The program focuses on developing TES for daily cycling (diurnal storage), annual cycling (seasonal storage), and utility applications (utility thermalenergy storage (UTES)). Several of these technologies can be used in a cogeneration facility. This paper discusses TES concepts relevant to cogeneration and describes the current status of these TES systems.

A method and apparatus for storing energy by converting thermalenergy to potential chemically bound energy in which a first metal hydride is heated to dissociation temperature, liberating hydrogen gas which is compressed and reacted with a second metal to form a second metal hydride while releasing thermalenergy. Cooling the first metal while warming the second metal hydride to dissociation temperature will reverse the flow of hydrogen gas back to the first metal, releasing additionalthermalenergy. The method and apparatus are particularly useful for the storage and conversion of thermalenergy from solar heat sources and for the utilization of this energy for space heating purposes, such as for homes or offices.

Thermalenergy storage apparatus, controllers and thermalenergy storage control methods are described. According to one aspect, a thermalenergy storage apparatus controller includes processing circuitry configured to access first information which is indicative of surpluses and deficiencies of electrical energy upon an electrical power system at a plurality of moments in time, access second information which is indicative of temperature of a thermalenergy storage medium at a plurality of moments in time, and use the first and second information to control an amount of electrical energy which is utilized by a heating element to heat the thermalenergy storage medium at a plurality of moments in time.

Polyimides have become widely used as high performance polymers as a result of their excellent thermal stability and toughness. However, lowering their coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) would increase their usefulness for aerospace and electronic applications where dimensional stability is a requirement. The incorporation of metal ion-containing additives into polyimides, resulting in significantly lowered CTE's, has been studied. Various metal ion additives have been added to both polyamic acid resins and soluble polyimide solutions in the concentration range of 4-23 weight percent. The incorporation of these metal ions has resulted in reductions in the CTE's of the control polyimides of 12 percent to over 100 percent depending on the choice of additive and its concentration.

The invention comprises thermal batteries employing an FeS/sub 2/ depolarizer itself. A minor amount of CaSi/sub 2/ preferably 1-3% by weight is provided as an additive in the FeS/sub 2/ depolarizer to eliminate the voltage transient (spike) which normally occurs upon activation of batteries of this type. The amount of FeS/sub 2/ by weight generally comprises 64 to 90%.

The invention comprises thermal batteries employing an FeS.sub.2 depolarizer, i.e. cathode material, and the depolarizer itself. A minor amount of CaSi.sub.2 preferably, 1-3% by weight is provided as an additive in the FeS.sub.2 depolarizer to eliminate the voltage transient (spike) which normally occurs upon activation of batteries of this type. The amount of FeS.sub.2 by weight generally comprises 64-90%.

Room-temperature thermal conductivity has been measured for a series of silicon nitride (Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}) matrix composites with molybdenum disilicide (MoSi{sub 2}) additions of 2, 5 10, 25 and 50 wt. %. Included in these measurements were a pure MoSi{sub 2} sample and a Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} sample containing only sintering aids. Aluminum oxide (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) and yttrium oxide (Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}) were added as the sintering aids, at approximately 6 and 2 respectively. When the amount of MoSi{sub 2} was increased to greater than 10 wt. %, the amount of the sintering aids necessary to densify the composite was decreased. No sintering aids were added to the pure MoSi{sub 2} sample. Thermal conductivities of the Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} sample without MoSi{sub 2} and the pure MoSi{sub 2} sample wee 36 W/m.K and 52 W/m.K respectively, which agree very well with the literature values for similar materials. No statistically significant changes were observed in the thermal conductivity for those samples containing up to 10 wt. % MoSi{sub 2}. However, between 10 and 25 wt. % MoSi{sub 2} there was a dramatic decrease in the thermal conductivity from 37 to 20.9 W/m.K. The thermal conductivity then increased steadily with further additions of MoSi{sub 2} up to 52 W/m.K for the pure MoSi{sub 2} specimen.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) conducted this study for the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Storage and Distribution. The purpose of the study was to develop and screen a list of potential entry market applications for aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES). Several initial screening criteria were used to identify promising ATES applications. These include the existence of an energy availability/usage mismatch, the existence of many similar applications or commercial sites, the ability to utilize proven technology, the type of location, market characteristics, the size of and access to capital investment, and the number of decision makers involved. The in-depth analysis identified several additional screening criteria to consider in the selection of an entry market application. This analysis revealed that the best initial applications for ATES are those where reliability is acceptable, and relatively high temperatures are allowable. Although chill storage was the primary focus of this study, applications that are good candidates for heat ATES were also of special interest. 11 refs., 3 tabs.

Lithium Base grease constitutes about 50% of market. The greases are developed to be able to work in multiple working conditions and have longer working life. Greases with extreme pressure additives and anti-wear additives have been developed as a solution to many of the applications. These developed greases are tested under ASTM D2266 testing conditions to meet the requirements. The actual working conditions, although, differ than the real testing conditions. The loading, speed and temperature conditions can be more harsh, or fluctuating in nature. The cyclic nature of the parameters cannot be directly related to the test performance. For this purpose studies on the performance under spectrum loading, variable speed and fluctuating temperature must be performed. This study includes tests to understand the effect of thermal variation on some of the most commonly used grease additives that perform well under ASTM D2266 testing conditions. The studied additives include most widely used industrial extreme pressure additive MoS2. Performance of ZDDP which is trying to replace MoS2 in its industrial applications has also been studied. The tests cover study of extreme pressure, anti-wear and friction modifier additives to get a general idea on the effects of thermal variation in three areas. Sulphur is the most common extreme pressure additive. Sulphur based MoS 2 is extensively used grease additive. Study to understand the tribological performance of this additive through wear testing and SEM/EDX studies has been done. This performance is also studied for other metallic sulfides like WS2 and sulphur based organic compound. The aim is to study the importance of the type of bond that sulphur shares in its additive's structure on its performance. The MoS2 film formation is found to be on the basis of the FeS formation on the substrate and protection through sacrificial monolayer deposition of the MoS2 sheared structure. The free Mo then tends to oxidise. An attempt to

Data collected during the Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) Cold Water Pipe At Sea Test are analyzed. Also included are the following ittems: (1) sensor factors and offsets, and the data processing algorithms used to convert the recorded sensor measurements from electrical to engineering units; (2) plots of the power spectra estimates obtained from a fast fourier transform (FFT) analysis of selected channels; (3) plots of selected sensor measurements as a function of time; and (4) plots of bending strain along the pipe using statistics and values presented.

Discusses studies in thermal comfort which served as the basis for the comfort standard. Examines seven variables in the human response to the thermal environment in terms of the ways in which they can be modified to conserve energy. (Author/MK)

Airborne thermal infrared scans and thermal maps utilized in NASA's energy conservation program have proven to be efficient cost-effective method for identifying heat losses from building roofs and heating system distribution lines. Method employs commercially available equipment in highly developed way.

TES is an in-space technology experiment that flew on STS-62. Its intent is to investigate the behavior of two different thermalenergy storage materials as they undergo repeated melting and freezing in the microgravity environment.

A pyroelectric thermalenergy harvesting apparatus for generating an electric current includes a cantilevered layered pyroelectric capacitor extending between a first surface and a second surface, where the first surface includes a temperature difference from the second surface. The layered pyroelectric capacitor includes a conductive, bimetal top electrode layer, an intermediate pyroelectric dielectric layer and a conductive bottom electrode layer. In addition, a pair of proof masses is affixed at a distal end of the layered pyroelectric capacitor to face the first surface and the second surface, wherein the proof masses oscillate between the first surface and the second surface such that a pyroelectric current is generated in the pyroelectric capacitor due to temperature cycling when the proof masses alternately contact the first surface and the second surface.

A legislative proposal to develop ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) facilities for power generation was the subject of hearings held on April 10 and May 1, 1980. Following the test of S. 2492 are the statements of 20 witnesses and additional materials submitted for consideration. The need for a large-scale demonstration of OTEC and the need for a Federal regulatory, siting, and financial-assistance framework are the major commercialization issues. S. 2492 provides one-stop licensing by treating the facilities as vessels and making them eligible for loan guarantees. The bill complements S. 1430, which deals with the demonstration program. OTEC development in Hawaii has progressed to a second pilot project. (DCK)

We demonstrate a novel hybrid solar photovoltaic electrical and thermalenergy cogeneration system with high efficiency, at potentially reduced overall weight and size compared with current solar energy systems. The new system is based on highly efficient photovoltaic solar cells and tubular water thermal receivers, incorporating holographic spectral beam light guide concentrators resulting in a more cost-effective solution. Details of fabrication and preliminary experimental testing results are presented.

Ocean thermalenergy conversion, or OTEC is a technology that extracts power from the ocean's natural thermal gradient. This technology is being pursued by researchers from many nations; in the United States, OTEC research is funded by the US Department of Energy's Ocean Energy Technology program. The program's goal is to develop the technology so that industry can make a competent assessment of its potential -- either as an alternative or as a supplement to conventional energy sources. Federally funded research in components and systems will help OTEC to the threshold of commercialization. This publication provides an overview of the OTEC technology. 47 refs., 25 figs.

Ocean thermalenergy conversion, or OTEC is a technology that extracts power from the ocean's natural thermal gradient. This technology is being pursued by researchers from many nations; in the United States, OTEC research is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Ocean Energy Technology program. The program's goal is to develop the technology so that industry can make a competent assessment of its potential; either as an alternative or as a supplement to conventional energy sources. Federally funded research in components and systems will help OTEC to the threshold of commercialization. An overview of the OTEC technology is provided.

RP-2 are that the allowed sulfur content is much lower in RP-2 (0.1 mg/kg, compared to 30 mg/kg in RP-1), the allowed olefin concentration is lower...28,30-35 decahydronaphthalene (decalin), 33,35 and benzyl alcohol . 28,36-38 In related work, a major research effort initiated by the U.S. Air Force...additives (e.g., benzyl alcohol ). We would also like to test the effect of different reactor materials, particularly copper, on the thermal stability of

Thermal radiation plays an increasingly important role in many emerging energy technologies, such as thermophotovoltaics, passive radiative cooling and wearable cooling clothes [1]. One of the fundamental constraints in thermal radiation is the Stefan-Boltzmann law, which limits the maximum power of far-field radiation to P0 = σT4S, where σ is the Boltzmann constant, S and T are the area and the temperature of the emitter, respectively (Fig. 1a). In order to overcome this limit, it has been shown that near-field radiations could have an energy density that is orders of magnitude greater than the Stefan-Boltzmann law [2-7]. Unfortunately, such near-field radiation transfer is spatially confined and cannot carry radiative heat to the far field. Recently, a new concept of thermal extraction was proposed [8] to enhance far-field thermal emission, which, conceptually, operates on a principle similar to oil immersion lenses and light extraction in light-emitting diodes using solid immersion lens to increase light output [62].Thermal extraction allows a blackbody to radiate more energy to the far field than the apparent limit of the Stefan-Boltzmann law without breaking the second law of thermodynamics. Thermal extraction works by using a specially designed thermal extractor to convert and guide the near-field energy to the far field, as shown in Fig. 1b. The same blackbody as shown in Fig. 1a is placed closely below the thermal extractor with a spacing smaller than the thermal wavelength. The near-field coupling transfers radiative energy with a density greater than σT4. The thermal extractor, made from transparent and high-index or structured materials, does not emit or absorb any radiation. It transforms the near-field energy and sends it toward the far field. As a result, the total amount of far-field radiative heat dissipated by the same blackbody is greatly enhanced above SσT4, where S is the area of the emitter. This paper will review the progress in thermal

Min-K 1400TE (Thermal Ceramics, Augusta, Georgia) insulation material was further characterized at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for use in structural applications under gradient temperature conditions in an inert environment. Original characterization of Min-K was undertaken from April 1997 to July 2008 to determine its high temperature compressive strength and stress relaxation behavior up to 900 C in helium along with the formulation of a general model for the mechanical behavior exhibited by Min-K under these conditions. The additional testing described in this report was undertaken from April 2009 to June 2010 in an effort to further evaluate the mechanical behavior of Min-K when subjected to a variety of conditions including alternative test temperatures and time scales than previously measured. The behavior of Min-K under changing environments (temperature and strain), lateral loads, and additional isothermal temperatures was therefore explored.

A composite material for thermalenergy storage based upon polyhydric alcohols, such as pentaerythritol, trimethylol ethane (also known as pentaglycerine), neopentyl glycol and related compounds including trimethylol propane, monoaminopentaerythritol, diamino-pentaerythritol and tris(hydroxymethyl)acetic acid, separately or in combinations, which provide reversible heat storage through crystalline phase transformations. These PCM's do not become liquid during use and are in contact with at least one material selected from the group consisting of metals, carbon, siliceous, plastic, cellulosic, natural fiber, artificial fiber, concrete, gypsum, porous rock, and mixtures thereof. Particulate additions such as aluminum or graphite powders, as well as metal and carbon fibers can also be incorporated therein. Particulate and/or fibrous additions can be introduced into molten phase change materials which can then be cast into various shapes. After the phase change materials have solidified, the additions will remain dispersed throughout the matrix of the cast solid. The polyol is in contact with at least one material selected from the group consisting of metals, carbon, siliceous, plastic, cellulosic, natural fiber, artificial fiber, concrete, gypsum, and mixtures thereof.

The present invention discloses composite material for thermalenergy storage based upon polyhydric alcohols, such as pentaerythritol, trimethylol ethane (also known as pentaglycerine), neopentyl glycol and related compounds including trimethylol propane, monoaminopentaerythritol, diamino-pentaerythritol and tris(hydroxymethyl)acetic acid, separately or in combinations, which provide reversible heat storage through crystalline phase transformations. These phase change materials do not become liquid during use and are in contact with at least one material selected from the group consisting of metals, carbon siliceous, plastic, cellulosic, natural fiber, artificial fiber, concrete, gypsum, porous rock, and mixtures thereof. Particulate additions, such as aluminum or graphite powders, as well as metal and carbon fibers can also be incorporated therein. Particulate and/or fibrous additions can be introduced into molten phase change materials which can then be cast into various shapes. After the phase change materials have solidified, the additions will remain dispersed throughout the matrix of the cast solid. The polyol is in contact with at least one material selected from the group consisting of metals, carbon siliceous, plastic, cellulosic, natural fiber, artificial fiber, concrete, gypsum, and mixtures thereof.

The ThermalEnergy Storage Flight Experiment was designed to characterize void shape and location in LiF-based phase change materials in different energy storage configurations representative of advanced solar dynamic systems. Experiment goals and payload design are described in outline and graphic form.

The goal of this program is to advance the engineering and scientific understanding of solar thermal technology and to establish the technology base from which private industry can develop solar thermal power production options for introduction into the competitive energy market. Solar thermal technology concentrates the solar flux using tracking mirrors or lenses onto a receiver where the solar energy is absorbed as heat and converted into electricity or incorporated into products as process heat. The two primary solar thermal technologies, central receivers and distributed receivers, employ various point and line-focus optics to concentrate sunlight. Current central receiver systems use fields of heliostats (two-axes tracking mirrors) to focus the sun's radiant energy onto a single, tower-mounted receiver. Point focus concentrators up to 17 meters in diameter track the sun in two axes and use parabolic dish mirrors or Fresnel lenses to focus radiant energy onto a receiver. Troughs and bowls are line-focus tracking reflectors that concentrate sunlight onto receiver tubes along their focal lines. Concentrating collector modules can be used alone or in a multimodule system. The concentrated radiant energy absorbed by the solar thermal receiver is transported to the conversion process by a circulating working fluid. Receiver temperatures range from 100 C in low-temperature troughs to over 1500 C in dish and central receiver systems.

The authors investigated the in-situ processing temperatures and effects of various formulation additives on the formation of ultraviolet (UV) excitable chromophores, in the thermal lamination and curing of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulants. A programmable, microprocessor-controlled, double-bag vacuum laminator was used to study two commercial as formulated EVA films, A9918P and 15295P, and solution-cast films of Elvaxrm (EVX) impregnated with various curing agents and antioxidants. The results show that the actual measured temperatures of EVA lagged significantly behind the programmed profiles for the heating elements and were affected by the total thermal mass loaded inside the laminator chamber. The antioxidant Naugard P{trademark}, used in the two commercial EVA formulations, greatly enhances the formation of UV-excitable, short chromophores upon curing, whereas other tested antioxidants show little effect. A new curing agent chosen specifically for the EVA formulation modification produces little or no effect on chromophore formation, no bubbling problems in the glass/EVX/glass laminates, and a gel content of {approximately}80% when cured at programmed 155{degrees}C for 4 min. Also demonstrated is the greater discoloring effect with higher concentrations of curing-generated chromophores.

ThermalEnergy Storage for Industrial Applications is a major thrust of the Department of Energy's ThermalEnergy Storage Program. Utilizing ThermalEnergy Storage (TES) with process or reject heat recovery systems is shown to be extremely beneficial for several applications. Recent system studies resulting from contracts awarded by the Department of Energy (DOE) identified four especially significant industries where TES appears attractive - food processing, paper and pulp, iron and steel, and cement. Potential annual fuel savings with large scale implementation of near term TES systems for these industries is over 9,000,000 bbl of oil. This savings is due to recuperation and storage in the food processing industry, direct fuel substitution in the paper and pulp industry and reduction in electric utility peak fuel use through inplant production of electricity from utilization of reject heat in the steel and cement industries.

This paper describes an evaluation of a newly developed thermally conductive geopolymer (TCG), consisting of a mixture of sodium silicate and carbon micro-particles. The TCG is intended to be used as a component of high temperature energy storage (HTTES) to improve its thermal diffusivity. Energy storage is crucial for both ecological and economical sustainability. HTTES plays a vital role in solar energy technologies and in waste heat recovery. The most advanced HTTES technologies are based on phase change materials or molten salts, but suffer with economic and technological limitations. Rock or concrete HTTES are cheaper, but they have low thermal conductivity without incorporation of TCG. It was observed that TCG is stable up to 400 °C. The thermal conductivity was measured in range of 20-23 W m-1 K-1. The effect of TCG was tested by heating a granite block with an artificial fissure. One half of the fissure was filled with TCG and the other with ballotini. 28 thermometers, 5 dilatometers and strain sensors were installed on the block. The heat transport experiment was evaluated with COMSOL Multiphysics software.

The feasibility of storing thermalenergy at temperatures of 450 C to 535 C in the form of latent heat of fusion was examined for over 30 inorganic salts and salt mixtures. Alkali carbonate mixtures were chosen as phase-change storage materials in this temperature range because of their relatively high storage capacity and thermal conductivity, moderate cost, low volumetric expansion upon melting, low corrosivity, and good chemical stability. Means of improving heat conduction through the solid salt were explored.

The covariant functional Schrödinger formalism is used to study thermal equilibrium for a scalar field in Robertson-Walker spacetimes. It is found that thermal equilibrium can be maintained for field masses, coupling constants and geometries satisfying a given differential equation, of which the massless conformally coupled case is a solution, but not the only one. The thermalenergy is computed; it contains a term which for particular geometries, such as de Sitter spacetime, grows in time. On leave of absence from Departamento de Física Teórica, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid 3, Spain.

Detection of gases such as H2, CO, and NO2 at 500 °C or greater requires materials with thermal stability and reliability. One of the major barriers toward integration of plasmonic-based chemical sensors is the requirement of multiple components such as light sources and spectrometers. In this work, plasmonic sensing results are presented where thermalenergy is harvested using lithographically patterned Au nanorods, replacing the need for an external incident light source. Gas sensing results using the harvested thermalenergy are in good agreement with sensing experiments, which used an external incident light source. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the wavelength parameter space from 665 variables down to 4 variables with similar levels of demonstrated selectivity. The combination of a plasmonic-based energy harvesting sensing paradigm with PCA analysis offers a novel path toward simplification and integration of plasmonic-based sensing methods.

The equipartition theorem states that in equilibrium, thermalenergy is equally distributed among uncoupled degrees of freedom that appear quadratically in the system's Hamiltonian. However, for spatially coupled degrees of freedom, such as interacting particles, one may speculate that the spatial distribution of thermalenergy may differ from the value predicted by equipartition, possibly quite substantially in strongly inhomogeneous or disordered systems. Here we show that for systems undergoing simple Gaussian fluctuations around an equilibrium state, the spatial distribution is universally bounded from above by 1/2k(B)T. We further show that in one-dimensional systems with short-range interactions, the thermalenergy is equally partitioned even for coupled degrees of freedom in the thermodynamic limit and that in higher dimensions nontrivial spatial distributions emerge. Some implications are discussed.

Broad Funding Opportunity Announcement Project: UCLA and JPL are creating cost-effective storage systems for solar thermalenergy using new materials and designs. A major drawback to the widespread use of solar thermalenergy is its inability to cost-effectively supply electric power at night. State-of-the-art energy storage for solar thermal power plants uses molten salt to help store thermalenergy. Molten salt systems can be expensive and complex, which is not attractive from a long-term investment standpoint. UCLA and JPL are developing a supercritical fluid-based thermalenergy storage system, which would be much less expensive than molten-salt-based systems. The team’s design also uses a smaller, modular, single-tank design that is more reliable and scalable for large-scale storage applications.

As part of the 1992 Intersociety Conversion Engineering Conference, held in San Diego, California, August 3--7, 1992, the Seasonal ThermalEnergy Storage Program coordinated five sessions dealing specifically with aquifer thermalenergy storage technologies (ATES). Researchers from Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, and the United States presented papers on a variety of ATES related topics. With special permission from the Society of Automotive Engineers, host society for the 1992 IECEC, these papers are being republished here as a standalone summary of ATES technology status. Individual papers are indexed separately.

Measurements of atomic recombination probabilities important in determining energy release to reusable spacecraft thermal protection surfaces during reentry are presented. An experimental apparatus constructed to examine recombination of atomic oxygen from thermal protection and reference materials at reentry temperatures is described. The materials are examined under ultrahigh vacuum conditions to develop and maintain well characterized surface conditions that are free of contamination. When compared with stagnation point heat transfer measurements performed in arc jet facilities, these measurements indicate that a significant fraction of the excess energy available from atom recombination is removed from the surface as metastable O2.

A thermalenergy storage device for use in a pulsed power supply to store waste heat produced in a high-power burst operation utilizes lithium hydride as the phase change thermalenergy storage material. The device includes an outer container encapsulating the lithium hydride and an inner container supporting a hydrogen sorbing sponge material such as activated carbon. The inner container is in communication with the interior of the outer container to receive hydrogen dissociated from the lithium hydride at elevated temperatures. 5 figures.

An example fuel cell arrangement includes a fuel cell stack configured to receive a supply fluid and to provide an exhaust fluid that has more thermalenergy than the supply fluid. The arrangement also includes an ejector and a heat exchanger. The ejector is configured to direct at least some of the exhaust fluid into the supply fluid. The heat exchanger is configured to increase thermalenergy in the supply fluid using at least some of the exhaust fluid that was not directed into the supply fluid.

Aquifers have been used to store large quantities of thermalenergy to supply process cooling, space cooling, space heating, and ventilation air preheating, and can be used with or without heat pumps. Aquifers are used as energy sinks and sources when supply and demand for energy do not coincide. Aquifer thermalenergy storage may be used on a short-term or long-term basis; as the sole source of energy or as a partial storage; at a temperature useful for direct application or needing upgrade. The sources of energy used for aquifer storage are ambient air, usually cold winter air; waste or by-product energy; and renewable energy such as solar. The present technical, financial and environmental status of ATES is promising. Numerous projects are operating and under development in several countries. These projects are listed and results from Canada and elsewhere are used to illustrate the present status of ATES. Technical obstacles have been addressed and have largely been overcome. Cold storage in aquifers can be seen as a standard design option in the near future as it presently is in some countries. The cost-effectiveness of aquifer thermalenergy storage is based on the capital cost avoidance of conventional chilling equipment and energy savings. ATES is one of many developments in energy efficient building technology and its success depends on relating it to important building market and environmental trends. This paper attempts to provide guidance for the future implementation of ATES. Individual projects have been processed separately for entry onto the Department of Energy databases.

New thermalenergy storage (TES) technologies are being developed and applied as society strives to relieve increasing energy and environmental stresses. Applications for these new technologies range from residential and district heating and cooling using waste and solar energy, to high-temperature energy storage for power production and industrial processes. In the last two decades there has been great interest and development of heat storage systems, primarily for residential and commercial buildings. While development has continued, the rate of advancement has slowed with current technology considered adequate for electrically charged heat storage furnaces. Use of chill storage for building diurnal cooling has received substantial development.

Launching the space shuttle involves an interesting paradox: While the temperatures inside the shuttle s main engines climb higher than 6,000 F hot enough to boil iron for fuel, the engines use liquid hydrogen, the second coldest liquid on Earth after liquid helium. Maintained below 20 K (-423 F), the liquid hydrogen is contained in the shuttle s rust-colored external tank. The external tank also contains liquid oxygen (kept below a somewhat less chilly 90 K or -297 F) that combines with the hydrogen to create an explosive mixture that along with the shuttle s two, powdered aluminum-fueled solid rocket boosters allows the shuttle to escape Earth s gravity. The cryogenic temperatures of the main engines liquid fuel can cause ice, frost, or liquefied air to build up on the external tank and other parts of the numerous launch fueling systems, posing a possible debris risk when the ice breaks off during launch and causing difficulties in the transfer and control of these cryogenic liquid propellants. Keeping the fuel at the necessary ultra-cold temperatures while minimizing ice buildup and other safety hazards, as well as reducing the operational maintenance costs, has required NASA to explore innovative ways for providing superior thermal insulation systems. To address the challenge, the Agency turned to an insulating technology so effective that, even though it is mostly air, a thin sheet can prevent a blowtorch from igniting a match. Aerogels were invented in 1931 and demonstrate properties that make them the most extraordinary insulating materials known; a 1-inch-thick piece of aerogel provides the same insulation as layering 15 panes of glass with air pockets in between. Derived from silica, aluminum oxide, or carbon gels using a supercritical drying process - resulting in a composition of almost 99-percent air - aerogels are the world s lightest solid (among 15 other titles they hold in the Guinness World Records), can float indefinitely on water if treated to be

The Ocean thermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) Program, in the Ocean Energy Technology Division of the U.S. Department of Energy, is concerned with the development of options that can be utilized to extract and distribute significant amounts of energy from the ocean. The biofouling control and materials portion of the program is concerned with the development of effective and environmentally acceptable methods to minimize biofouling and corrosion in high thermal conductivity materials suitable for use in heat exchangers and condensers. The mechanical and chemical techniques employed for biofouling control are reviewed and the recent success with chlorination is presented. The corrosion of aluminum alloys, copper alloys, stainless steel, stainless alloys, and titanium in near-surface warm and deep cold water is reviewed with emphasis on aluminum alloys. The major materials issues are reviewed with emphasis on lifetime and cost.

In a 1992 paper published in this journal, Uri Ganiel described a pair of model carts used to demonstrate elastic and inelastic collisions. The wooden carts had low-friction wheels and a steel-strip bumper on one end. On one of the carts, a number of brass washers were rigidly mounted in vertical stacks to a wooden framework. The other cart was similar except that the washers were tied to rubber bands that were stretched horizontally and diagonally across the framework. When the first cart was rolled into a wall it bounced off with only a small reduction in speed ("elastic" collision). The second cart, on the other hand, was found to come nearly to a complete stop upon colliding with the wall ("inelastic" collision). Following the instructions given in Ganiel's paper, I built a pair of carts and demonstrated them to introductory-level physics students at a large public university. It was interesting to find that many students were distracted by the different-looking structures of the two model carts.2 They thought the different distributions of washers between the carts resulted in the rubber-band cart bouncing back a significantly shorter distance than the rigid-rod one after they both collided with a wall at the same initial speed. Apparently, the students had difficulties in understanding the collisions and used surface features to reason about them. To avoid this superficial distraction and to help students visualize easily "where the kinetic energy goes in an inelastic collision," I modified the rigid-rod cart to have washers fixed on hollow aluminum rods mounted at four different levels horizontally and diagonally (see Fig. 1). The new pair of the model carts look very similar to each other: They have the same bumpers, same wheels, same distributions of washers, and same masses.

A thermalenergy storge composition is disclosed. The composition comprises a non-chloride hydrate having a phase change transition temperature in the range of 70.degree.-95.degree. F. and a latent heat of transformation of at least about 35 calories/gram.

construction of massive floating structures to house ocean thermalenergy conversion ( OTEC ) systems. The relevant capabilities and limitations of available...which reasonable improvements can be made in the near term to provide greater assurances of long-term safe and reliable operation of the OTEC systems and to provide lower cost structures. (Author)

An article of manufacture and method of preparation thereof. The article of manufacture and method of making the article includes an eutectic salt solution suspensions and a plurality of nanocrystalline phase change material particles having a coating disposed thereon and the particles capable of undergoing the phase change which provides increase in thermalenergy storage. In addition, other articles of manufacture can include a nanofluid additive comprised of nanometer-sized particles consisting of copper decorated graphene particles that provide advanced thermal conductivity to heat transfer fluids.

The OTEC principle is discussed along with general system and cycle types, specific OTEC designs, OTEC applications, and the ocean thermal resource. The historic development of OTEC is briefly reviewed, and the status of French, Japanese, EUROCEAN, and US programs is assessed. US efforts are detailed and DOE's strategy outlined with OTEC-1 and Mini-OTEC information. Power system components of the more technically advanced closed-cycle OTEC concept are discussed. These include: heat exchangers, corrosion and biofouling countermeasures, working fluids, ammonia power systems, and on-platform seawater systems. Several open-cycle features are also discussed. A critical review is presented of the ocean engineering aspects of OTEC power systems. Major subsystems such as platform, cold water pipe, mooring system, dynamic positioning system, power transmission cable system are assessed for their relationships with the ocean environment and with each other. Nine available studies of OTEC costs are reviewed. Tentative comparisons are made between OTEC and traditional fuel costs, and OTEC products and markets are considered. Possible environmental and social effects of OTEC development are discussed. International, national, and local laws regulating OTEC plants and OTEC energy products are reviewed. Tax incentives, attitudes of the utilities, and additional legislative needs are considered. (LEW)

This work describes a methodology for informing targeted demand-response (DR) and marketing programs that focus on the temperature-sensitive part of residential electricity demand. Our methodology uses data that is becoming readily available at utility companies-hourly energy consumption readings collected from "smart" electricity meters, as well as hourly temperature readings. To decompose individual consumption into a thermal-sensitive part and a base load (non-thermally-sensitive), we propose a model of temperature response that is based on thermal regimes, i.e., unobserved decisions of consumers to use their heating or cooling appliances. We use this model to extract useful benchmarks that compose thermal profiles of individual users, i.e., terse characterizations of the statistics of these users' temperature-sensitive consumption. We present example profiles generated using our model on real consumers, and show its performance on a large sample of residential users. This knowledge may, in turn, inform the DR program by allowing scarce operational and marketing budgets to be spent on the right users-those whose influencing will yield highest energy reductions-at the right time. We show that such segmentation and targeting of users may offer savings exceeding 100% of a random strategy.

The disparity between energy production and demand in many power plants has led to increased research on the long-term, large-scale storage of thermalenergy in aquifers. Field experiments have been conducted in Switzerland, France, the United States, Japan, and the People's Republic of China to study various technical aspects of aquifer storage of both hot and cold water. Furthermore, feasibility studies now in progress include technical, economic, and environmental analyses, regional exploration to locate favorable storage sites, and evaluation and design of pilot plants. Several theoretical and modeling studies are also under way. Among the topics being studied using numerical models are fluid and heat flow, dispersion, land subsidence or uplift, the efficiency of different injection/withdrawal schemes, buoyancy tilting, numerical dispersion, the use of compensation wells to counter regional flow, steam injection, and storage in narrow glacial deposits of high permeability. Experiments to date illustrate the need for further research and development to ensure successful implementation of an aquifer storage system. Some of the areas identified for further research include shape and location of the hydrodynamic and thermal fronts, choice of appropriate aquifers, thermal dispersion, possibility of land subsidence or uplift, thermal pollution, water chemistry, wellbore plugging and heat exchange efficiency, and control of corrosion.

Over the past few years, Sandia National Laboratories were involved in the design, construction, and operation of a number of DOE-sponsored solar thermalenergy systems. Among the systems currently in operation are several industrial process heat projects and the Modular Industrial Solar Retrofit qualification test systems, all of which use parabolic troughs, and the Shenandoah Total Energy Project, which uses parabolic dishes. Operational experience has provided insight to both desirable and undesirable features of the designs of these systems. Features of these systems which are also relevant to the design of parabolic concentrator thermal electric systems are discussed. Other design features discussed are system control functions which were found to be especially convenient or effective, such as local concentrator controls, rainwash controls, and system response to changing isolation. Drive systems are also discussed with particular emphasis of the need for reliability and the usefulness of a manual drive capability.

Over the past few years, Sandia National Laboratories were involved in the design, construction, and operation of a number of DOE-sponsored solar thermalenergy systems. Among the systems currently in operation are several industrial process heat projects and the Modular Industrial Solar Retrofit qualification test systems, all of which use parabolic troughs, and the Shenandoah Total Energy Project, which uses parabolic dishes. Operational experience has provided insight to both desirable and undesirable features of the designs of these systems. Features of these systems which are also relevant to the design of parabolic concentrator thermal electric systems are discussed. Other design features discussed are system control functions which were found to be especially convenient or effective, such as local concentrator controls, rainwash controls, and system response to changing isolation. Drive systems are also discussed with particular emphasis of the need for reliability and the usefulness of a manual drive capability.

HEATS Project: MIT is developing a thermalenergy storage device that captures energy from the sun; this energy can be stored and released at a later time when it is needed most. Within the device, the absorption of sunlight causes the solar thermal fuel’s photoactive molecules to change shape, which allows energy to be stored within their chemical bonds. A trigger is applied to release the stored energy as heat, where it can be converted into electricity or used directly as heat. The molecules would then revert to their original shape, and can be recharged using sunlight to begin the process anew. MIT’s technology would be 100% renewable, rechargeable like a battery, and emissions-free. Devices using these solar thermal fuels—called Hybrisol—can also be used without a grid infrastructure for applications such as de-icing, heating, cooking, and water purification.

Organic phase change materials (PCMs) have been utilized as latent heat energy storage and release media for effective thermal management. A major challenge exists for organic PCMs in which their low thermal conductivity leads to a slow transient temperature response and reduced heat transfer efficiency. In this work, 2D thermally annealed defect-free graphene sheets (GSs) can be obtained upon high temperature annealing in removing defects and oxygen functional groups. As a result of greatly reduced phonon scattering centers for thermal transport, the incorporation of ultralight weight and defect free graphene applied as nanoscale additives into a phase change composite (PCC) drastically improve thermal conductivity and meanwhile minimize the reduction of heat of fusion. A high thermal conductivity of the defect-free graphene-PCC can be achieved up to 3.55 W/(m K) at a 10 wt % graphene loading. This represents an enhancement of over 600% as compared to pristine graphene-PCC without annealing at a comparable loading, and a 16-fold enhancement than the pure PCM (1-octadecanol). The defect-free graphene-PCC displays rapid temperature response and superior heat transfer capability as compared to the pristine graphene-PCC or pure PCM, enabling transformational thermalenergy storage and management.

The concept of using lunar regolith as a thermalenergy storage medium was evaluated. The concept was examined by mathematically modeling the absorption and transfer of heat by the lunar regolith. Regolith thermal and physical properties were established through various sources as functions of temperature. Two cases were considered: a semi-infinite, constant temperature, cylindrical heat source embedded in a continuum of lunar regolith and a spherically shaped molten zone of lunar regolith set with an initial temperature profile. The cylindrical analysis was performed in order to examine the amount of energy which can be stored in the regolith during the day. At night, the cylinder acted as a perfect insulator. This cycling was performed until a steady state situation was reached in the surrounding regolith. It was determined that a cycling steady state occurs after approximately 15 day/night cycles. Results were obtained for cylinders of various diameters. The spherical molten zone analysis was performed to establish the amount of thermalenergy, within the regolith, necessary to maintain some molten material throughout a nighttime period. This surrounding temperature profile was modeled after the cycling steady state temperature profile established by the cylindrical analysis. It was determined that a molten sphere diameter of 4.76 m is needed to maintain a core temperature near the low end of the melting temperature range throughout one nighttime period.

The activities feasibility of high temperature underground thermal storage of energy was investigated. Results indicate that salt cavern storage of hot oil is both technically and economically feasible as a method of storing huge quantities of heat at relatively low cost. One particular system identified utilizes a gravel filled cavern leached within a salt dome. Thermal losses are shown to be less than one percent of cyclically transferred heat. A system like this having a 40 MW sub t transfer rate capability and over eight hours of storage capacity is shown to cost about $13.50 per KWh sub t.

The activities feasibility of high temperature underground thermal storage of energy was investigated. Results indicate that salt cavern storage of hot oil is both technically and economically feasible as a method of storing huge quantities of heat at relatively low cost. One particular system identified utilizes a gravel filled cavern leached within a salt dome. Thermal losses are shown to be less than one percent of cyclically transferred heat. A system like this having a 40 MW sub t transfer rate capability and over eight hours of storage capacity is shown to cost about $13.50 per KWh sub t.

The objective of this research is to increase the thermal conductivity of uranium oxide (UO{sub 2}) without significantly impacting its neutronic properties. The concept is to incorporate another high thermal conductivity material, silicon carbide (SiC), in the form of whiskers or from nanoparticles of SiC and a SiC polymeric precursor into UO{sub 2}. This is expected to form a percolation pathway lattice for conductive heat transfer out of the fuel pellet. The thermal conductivity of SiC would control the overall fuel pellet thermal conductivity. The challenge is to show the effectiveness of a low temperature sintering process, because of a UO{sub 2}-SiC reaction at 1,377°C, a temperature far below the normal sintering temperature. Researchers will study three strategies to overcome the processing difficulties associated with pore clogging and the chemical reaction of SiC and UO{sub 2} at temperatures above 1,300°C:

Traditionally, renewable biomass energy sources comprise forests, agriculture and other large vegetation units. With the increasing demand on those landscape elements, including conflicts of interest to nature conservation and food production, the research focus should also incorporate smaller vegetation entities. In this study, we highlight the availability of small-scale features like roadside vegetation or hedges, which are rarely featured in maps. Roadside vegetation, however, is well known and regularly trimmed to allow the passing of traffic but the cut material is rarely harvested. Here, we combine a remote-sensing-based approach to quantify the seasonal biomass harvests with a GIS-based method to outline optimal transportation routes to, and the location of, storage units and power plants. Our main data source will be ESA's upcoming Sentinel-2 optical satellite. Spatial resolution of 10 meters in the visible and near infrared requires the use of spectral unmixing to derive end member spectra of the targeted biomass objects. Additional stereo-matching and LIDAR measurements allow the accompanying height estimate to derive the biomass volume and its changes over time. GIS data bases from the target areas allow the discrimination between traditional, large features (e.g. forests and agriculture) as well as previously unaccounted for, smaller vegetation units. With the mapped biomass occurrence and additional, GIS-based infrastructure information, we can outline transport routes that take into account local restrictions like nature reserve areas, height or weight limitations as well as transport costs in relation to potential gains. This information can then be processed to outline optimal places for power plants. To simulate the upcoming Sentinel-2 data sets, we use airborne data from the AISA Eagle, spatially and spectrally down-sampled to match Sentinel 2's resolution. Our test scenario is an area in western Germany, the Kirchheller Heide, close to the city

According to a generalization of black hole thermodynamics to a cosmological framework, it is possible to define a temperature for the cosmological horizon. The hypothesis of thermal equilibrium between the dark energy and the horizon has been considered by many authors. We find the restrictions imposed by this hypothesis on the energy transfer rate (Qi) between the cosmological fluids, assuming that the temperature of the horizon has the form T =b/2πR, where R is the radius of the horizon. We more specifically consider two types of dark energy: Chaplygin gas (CG) and dark energy with a constant equation of state parameter (wDE). In each case, we show that for a given radius R, there is a unique term Qde that is consistent with thermal equilibrium. We also consider the situation where, in addition to dark energy, other fluids (cold matter, radiation) are in thermal equilibrium with the horizon. We find that the interaction terms required for this will generally violate energy conservation (∑iQi=0).

Understanding how environmental temperature affects metabolic and physiological functions is of crucial importance to assess the impacts of climate change on organisms. Here, we used different laboratory strains and a wild-caught population of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to examine the effect of temperature on the body energy reserves of an ectothermic organism. We found that permanent ambient temperature elevation or transient thermal stress causes significant depletion of body fat stores. Surprisingly, transient thermal stress induces a lasting “memory effect” on body fat storage, which also reduces survivorship of the flies upon food deprivation later after stress exposure. Functional analyses revealed that an intact heat-shock response is essential to protect flies from temperature-dependent body fat decline. Moreover, we found that the temperature-dependent body fat reduction is caused at least in part by apoptosis of fat body cells, which might irreversibly compromise the fat storage capacity of the flies. Altogether, our results provide evidence that thermal stress has a significant negative impact on organismal energy reserves, which in turn might affect individual fitness. PMID:27641694

Understanding how environmental temperature affects metabolic and physiological functions is of crucial importance to assess the impacts of climate change on organisms. Here, we used different laboratory strains and a wild-caught population of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to examine the effect of temperature on the body energy reserves of an ectothermic organism. We found that permanent ambient temperature elevation or transient thermal stress causes significant depletion of body fat stores. Surprisingly, transient thermal stress induces a lasting "memory effect" on body fat storage, which also reduces survivorship of the flies upon food deprivation later after stress exposure. Functional analyses revealed that an intact heat-shock response is essential to protect flies from temperature-dependent body fat decline. Moreover, we found that the temperature-dependent body fat reduction is caused at least in part by apoptosis of fat body cells, which might irreversibly compromise the fat storage capacity of the flies. Altogether, our results provide evidence that thermal stress has a significant negative impact on organismal energy reserves, which in turn might affect individual fitness.

Researchers at the Thermal Test Facility (TTF) on the campus of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, are addressing maximizing thermal efficiency and optimizing energy management through analysis of efficient heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) strategies, automated home energy management (AHEM), and energy storage systems.

The attenuation of scattered thermalenergy atomic oxygen is relevant to the potential damage that can occur within a spacecraft which sweeps through atomic oxygen in low Earth orbit (LEO). Although there can be significant oxidation and resulting degradation of polymers and some metals on the external surfaces of spacecraft, there are often openings on a spacecraft such as telescope apertures, vents, and microwave cavities that can allow atomic oxygen to enter and scatter internally to the spacecraft. Atomic oxygen that enters a spacecraft can thermally accommodate and scatter to ultimately react or recombine on surfaces. The atomic oxygen that does enter a spacecraft can be scavenged by use of high erosion yield polymers to reduce its reaction on critical surfaces and materials. Polyoxymethylene and polyethylene can be used as effective atomic oxygen scavenging polymers.

This report presents the results of a review of market studies of thermalenergy storage (TES). This project was conducted by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the US Department of Energy (DOE). PNL staff reviewed and consolidated the findings of existing TES market studies conducted in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors. The purpose of this project was to review and assess previous work and to use the information obtained to help provide direction for future technology transfer planning activities and to identify additional economic research needed within those three sectors. 37 refs.

Recent results from selected thermalenergy storage (TES) research activities in Germany and Sweden are discussed. In addition, several new technologies for heating and cooling of buildings and automobiles were reviewed and found to benefit similar efforts in the United states. Details of a meeting with Didier-Werke AG, a leading German ceramics manufacturer who will provide TES media necessary for the United States to complete field tests of an advanced high temperature latent heat storage material, are presented. Finally, an overview of the December 1990 International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Committee deliberations on TES is presented.

Significant achievements in Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) technology have increased the probability of producing OTEC-derived power in this decade with subsequent large-scale commercialization to follow by the turn of the century. Under U.S. Department of Energy funding, Interstate Electronics has prepared an OTEC Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) that considers tne development, demonstration, and commercialization of OTEC power systems. The EA considers several tecnnological designs (open cycle and closed cycle), plant configurations (land-based, moored, and plantship), and power usages (baseload electricity and production of ammonia and aluminum). Potencial environmental impacts, health and safety issues, and a status update of international, federal, and state plans and policies, as they may influence OTEC deployments, are included.

The use of the thermal gradient between the warm surface waters and the deep cold waters of tropical oceans was first proposed by J. A. d'Arsonval in 1881 and tried unsuccessfully be George Claude in 1930. Interest in Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) and other renewable energy sources revived in the 1970s as a result of oil embargoes. At that time, the emphasis was on large floating plants miles from shore producing 250--400 MW for maintained grids. When the problems of such plants became better understood and the price of oil reversed its upward trend, the emphasis shifted to smaller (10 MW) shore-based plants on tropical islands. Such plants would be especially attractive if they produce fresh water as a by-product. During the past 15 years, major progress has been made in converting OTEC unknowns into knowns. Mini-OTEC proved the closed-cycle concept. Cost-effective heat-exchanger concepts were identified. An effective biofouling control technique was discovered. Aluminum was determined to be promising for OTEC heat exchangers. Heat-transfer augmentation techniques were identified, which promised a reduction on heat-exchanger size and cost. Fresh water was produced by an OTEC open-cycle flash evaporator, using the heat energy in the seawater itself. The current R D emphasis is on the design and construction of a test facility to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the open-cycle process. The 10 MW shore-based, closed-cycle plant can be built with today's technology; with the incorporation of a flash evaporator, it will produce fresh water as well as electrical power -- both valuable commodities on many tropical islands. The open-cycle process has unknowns that require solution before the technical feasibility can be demonstrated. The economic viability of either cycle depends on reducing the capital costs of OTEC plants and on future trends in the costs of conventional energy sources. 7 refs.

The use of the thermal gradient between the warm surface waters and the deep cold waters of tropical oceans was first proposed by J. A. d'Arsonval in 1881 and tried unsuccessfully by George Claude in 1930. Interest in Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) and other renewable energy sources revived in the 1970s as a result of oil embargoes. At that time, the emphasis was on large floating plants miles from shore producing 250 to 400 MW for maintained grids. When the problems of such plants became better understood and the price of oil reversed its upward trend, the emphasis shifted to smaller (10 MW) shore based plants on tropical islands. Such plants would be especially attractive if they produce fresh water as a by-product. During the past 15 years, major progress has been made in converting OTEC unknowns into knowns. Mini-OTEC proved the closed cycle concept. Cost effective heat exchanger concepts were identified. An effective biofouling control technique was discovered. Aluminum was determined to be promising for OTEC heat exchangers. Heat transfer augmentation techniques were identified, which promised a reduction on heat exchanger size and cost. Fresh water was produced by an OTEC open cycle flash evaporator, using the heat energy in the seawater itself. The current R and D emphasis is on the design and construction of a test facility to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the open cycle process. The 10 MW shore-based, closed cycle plant can be built with today's technology; with the incorporation of a flash evaporator, it will produce fresh water as well as electrical power; both valuable commodities on many tropical islands. The open cycle process has unknowns that require solution before the technical feasibility can be demonstrated. The economic viability of either cycle depends on reducing the capital costs of OTEC plants and on future trends in the costs of conventional energy sources.

This report documents an assessment methodology for evaluating the cost, performance, and overall economic feasibility of thermalenergy storage (TES) concepts. The methodology was developed by ThermalEnergy Storage Evaluation Program personnel at Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for use by PNL and other TES concept evaluators. The methodology is generically applicable to all TES concepts; however, specific analyses may require additional or more detailed definition of the ground rules, assumptions, and analytical approach. The overall objective of the assessment methodology is to assist in preparing equitable and proper evaluations of TES concepts that will allow developers and end-users to make valid decisions about research and development (R and D) and implementation. The methodology meets this objective by establishing standard approaches, ground rules, assumptions, and definitions that are analytically correct and can be consistently applied by concept evaluators.

This report documents an assessment methodology for evaluating the cost, performance, and overall economic feasibility of thermalenergy storage (TES) concepts. The methodology was developed by ThermalEnergy Storage Evaluation Program personnel at Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for use by PNL and other TES concept evaluators. The methodology is generically applicable to all TES concepts; however, specific analyses may require additional or more detailed definition of the ground rules, assumptions, and analytical approach. The overall objective of the assessment methodology is to assist in preparing equitable and proper evaluations of TES concepts that will allow developers and end-users to make valid decisions about research and development (R and D) and implementation. The methodology meets this objective by establishing standard approaches, ground rules, assumptions, and definitions that are analytically correct and can be consistently applied by concept evaluators. 15 refs., 4 figs., 13 tabs.

The overall deliverable from the project is the design, construction and commissioning of a detention facility heating and cooling system that minimizes ownership costs and maximizes efficiency (and therefore minimizes environmental impact). The primary deliverables were the proof of concept for the application of geothermal systems for an institutional facility and the ongoing, quarterly system operating data downloads to the Department of Energy . The primary advantage of geothermal based heat pump systems is the higher efficiency of the system compared to a conventional chiller, boiler, cooling tower based system. The higher efficiency results in a smaller environmental foot print and lower energy costs for the detention facility owner, Lancaster County. The higher efficiency for building cooling is primarily due to a more constant compressor condensing temperature with the geothermal well field acting as a thermal “sink” (in place of the conventional system’s cooling tower). In the heating mode, Ground Couple Heat Pump (GCHP) systems benefits from the advantage of a heat pump Coefficient of Performance (COP) of approximately 3.6, significantly better than a conventional gas boiler. The geothermal well field acting as a thermal “source” allows the heat pumps to operate efficiently in the heating mode regardless of ambient temperatures. The well field is partially located in a wetland with a high water table so, over time, the project will be able to identify the thermal loading characteristics of a well field located in a high water table location. The project demonstrated how a large geothermal well field can be installed in a wetland area in an economical and environmentally sound manner. Finally, the SW 40th Street ThermalEnergy Plant project demonstrates the benefits of providing domestic hot water energy, as well as space heating, to help balance well filed thermal loading in a cooling dominated application. During the period of August 2012 thru

ThermalEnergy Storage Units were developed for storing thermalenergy required for operating Vuilleumier cryogenic space coolers. In the course of the development work the thermal characteristics of thermalenergy storage material was investigated. By three distinctly different methods it was established that ternary salts did not release fusion energy as determined by ideality at the melting point of the eutectic salt. Phase change energy was released over a relatively wide range of temperature with a large change in volume. This strongly affects the amount of thermalenergy that is available to the Vuilleumier cryogenic cooler at its operating temperature range and the amount of thermalenergy that can be stored and released during a single storage cycle.

The wave dispersion rule for non-uniform material is useful for ultrasonic inspection and engine life prediction, and also is key in achieving an understanding of the energy dissipation and thermal conduction properties of solid material. On the basis of linear response theory and molecular dynamics, we derive a set of formulas for calculating the wave dispersion rate of interface systems, and study four kinds of interfaces inside plastic bonded explosives: HMX/{HMX, TATB, F2312, F2313}. (HMX: octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine; TATB: 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene; F2312, F2313: fluoropolymers). The wave dispersion rate is obtained over a wide frequency range from kHz to PHz. We find that at low frequency, the rate is proportional to the square of the frequency, and at high frequency, the rate couples with the molecular vibration modes at the interface. By using the results, the thermal conductivities of HMX/additive interfaces are derived, and a physical model is built for describing the total thermal conductivity of mixture explosives, including HMX multi-particle systems and {TATB, F2312, F2313}-coated HMX.

The efficient conversion of waste thermalenergy into electrical energy is of considerable interest due to the huge sources of low-grade thermalenergy available in technologically advanced societies. Our group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is developing a new type of high efficiency thermal waste heat energy converter that can be used to actively cool electronic devices, concentrated photovoltaic solar cells, computers and large waste heat producing systems, while generating electricity that can be used to power remote monitoring sensor systems, or recycled to provide electrical power. The energy harvester is a temperature cycled pyroelectric thermal-to-electrical energy harvester that can be used to generate electrical energy from thermal waste streams with temperature gradients of only a few degrees. The approach uses a resonantly driven pyroelectric capacitive bimorph cantilever structure that potentially has energy conversion efficiencies several times those of any previously demonstrated pyroelectric or thermoelectric thermalenergy harvesters. The goals of this effort are to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating high conversion efficiency MEMS based pyroelectric energy converters that can be fabricated into scalable arrays using well known microscale fabrication techniques and materials. These fabrication efforts are supported by detailed modeling studies of the pyroelectric energy converter structures to demonstrate the energy conversion efficiencies and electrical energy generation capabilities of these energy converters. This paper reports on the modeling, fabrication and testing of test structures and single element devices that demonstrate the potential of this technology for the development of high efficiency thermal-to-electrical energy harvesters.

The efficient conversion of waste thermalenergy into electrical energy is of considerable interest due to the huge sources of low-grade thermalenergy available in technologically advanced societies. Our group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is developing a new type of high efficiency thermal waste heat energy converter that can be used to actively cool electronic devices, concentrated photovoltaic solar cells, computers and large waste heat producing systems, while generating electricity that can be used to power remote monitoring sensor systems, or recycled to provide electrical power. The energy harvester is a temperature cycled pyroelectric thermal-to-electrical energy harvester that can be used to generate electrical energy from thermal waste streams with temperature gradients of only a few degrees. The approach uses a resonantly driven pyroelectric capacitive bimorph cantilever structure that potentially has energy conversion efficiencies several times those of any previously demonstrated pyroelectric or thermoelectric thermalenergy harvesters. The goals of this effort are to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating high conversion efficiency MEMS based pyroelectric energy converters that can be fabricated into scalable arrays using well known microscale fabrication techniques and materials. These fabrication efforts are supported by detailed modeling studies of the pyroelectric energy converter structures to demonstrate the energy conversion efficiencies and electrical energy generation capabilities of these energy converters. This paper reports on the modeling, fabrication and testing of test structures and single element devices that demonstrate the potential of this technology for the development of high efficiency thermal-to-electrical energy harvesters.

HEATS Project: NAVITASMAX is developing a novel thermalenergy storage solution. This innovative technology is based on simple and complex supercritical fluids— substances where distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist, and tuning the properties of these fluid systems to increase their ability to store more heat. In solar thermal storage systems, heat can be stored in NAVITASMAX’s system during the day and released at night—when the sun is not shining—to drive a turbine and produce electricity. In nuclear storage systems, heat can be stored in NAVITASMAX’s system at night and released to produce electricity during daytime peak-demand hours.

An HPSR Stirling engine generator system featuring latent heat thermalenergy storge, excellent thermal stability and self regulating, effective thermal transport at low system delta T is described. The system was supported by component technology testing of heat pipes and of thermal storage and energy transport models which define the expected performance of the system. Preliminary and detailed design efforts were completed and manufacturing of HPSR components has begun.

This paper builds on studies conducted on thermalenergy storage (TES) systems that were built as a part of the work performed for a DOE-funded SunShot project titled "High Temperature Falling Particle Receiver". In previous studies, two small-scale TES systems were constructed for measuring heat loss at high temperatures that are compatible with the falling particle receiver concept, both of which had shown very limited heat loss. Through the course of those studies, it became evident that there was a lack of information about the thermal performance of some of the insulating refractory materials used in the experiments at high temperatures, especially insulating firebrick and perlite concrete. This work focuses on determining the thermal conductivities of those materials at high temperatures. The apparatus consists of a prototype cylindrical TES bin built with the same wall construction used in previous studies. An electric heater is placed along the centerline of the bin, and thermocouples are used to measure temperature at the interfaces between all layers. Heat loss is measured across one of the layers whose thermal conductivity had already been well established using laboratory experiments. This value is used to deduce the thermal conductivity of other layers. Three interior temperature levels were considered; namely, 300°C, 500°C, and 700°C. Results show that the thermal conductivity of insulating firebrick remains low (approximately 0.22 W/m.K) at an average layer temperature as high as 640°C, but it was evident that the addition of mortar had an impact on its effective thermal conductivity. Results also show that the thermal conductivity of perlite concrete is very low, approximately 0.15 W/m.K at an average layer temperature of 360°C. This is evident by the large temperature drop that occurs across the perlite concrete layer. These results should be useful for future studies, especially those that focus on numerical modeling of TES bins.

Energy efficiency standards set minimum levels of energy efficiency that must be met by new products. Depending on the dynamics of the market and the level of the standard, the effect on the market for a given product may be small, moderate, or large. Energy efficiency standards address a number of market failures that exist in the buildings sector. Decisions about efficiency levels often are made by people who will not be responsible for the energy bill, such as landlords or developers of commercial buildings. Many buildings are occupied for their entire lives by very temporary owners or renters, each unwilling to make long-term investments that would mostly reward subsequent users. And sometimes what looks like apathy about efficiency merely reflects inadequate information or time invested to evaluate it. In addition to these sector-specific market failures, energy efficiency standards address the endemic failure of energy prices to incorporate externalities. In the U.S., energy efficiency standards for consumer products were first implemented in California in 1977. National standards became effective starting in 1988. By the end of 2001, national standards were in effect for over a dozen residential appliances, as well as for a number of commercial sector products. Updated standards will take effect in the next few years for several products. Outside the U.S., over 30 countries have adopted minimum energy performance standards. Technologies and markets are dynamic, and additional opportunities to improve energy efficiency exist. There are two main avenues for extending energy efficiency standards. One is upgrading standards that already exist for specific products. The other is adopting standards for products that are not covered by existing standards. In the absence of new and upgraded energy efficiency standards, it is likely that many new products will enter the stock with lower levels of energy efficiency than would otherwise be the case. Once in the stock

characteristics and may not necessarily be available in all cases. Types of direct heat energy systems include solar thermal, waste heat , and geothermal ...DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This thesis outlines the design of a renewable energy heat generation system with thermal...LEFT BLANK v ABSTRACT This thesis outlines the design of a renewable energy heat generation system with thermal storage for DOD facilities. The

We used a combination of ion cascades and the unified thermal spike model to study the electronic effects from 800 keV Kr and Xe ion irradiation in zircon. We compared the damage production for four cases: (a) due to ion cascades alone, (b) due to ion cascades with the electronic energy loss activated as a friction term, (c) due to the thermal spike from the combined electronic and nuclear energy losses, and (d) due to ion cascades with electronic stopping and the electron-phonon interactions superimposed. As a result, we found that taking the electronic energy loss out as a frictionmore » term results in reduced damage, while the electronic electron-phonon interactions have additive impact on the final damage created per ion.« less

We used a combination of ion cascades and the unified thermal spike model to study the electronic effects from 800 keV Kr and Xe ion irradiation in zircon. We compared the damage production for four cases: (a) due to ion cascades alone, (b) due to ion cascades with the electronic energy loss activated as a friction term, (c) due to the thermal spike from the combined electronic and nuclear energy losses, and (d) due to ion cascades with electronic stopping and the electron-phonon interactions superimposed. As a result, we found that taking the electronic energy loss out as a friction term results in reduced damage, while the electronic electron-phonon interactions have additive impact on the final damage created per ion.

We used a combination of ion cascades and the unified thermal spike model to study the electronic effects from 800 keV Kr and Xe ion irradiation in zircon. We compared the damage production for four cases: (a) due to ion cascades alone, (b) due to ion cascades with the electronic energy loss activated as a friction term, (c) due to the thermal spike from the combined electronic and nuclear energy losses, and (d) due to ion cascades with electronic stopping and the electron-phonon interactions superimposed. We found that taking the electronic energy loss out as a friction term results in reduced damage, while the electronic electron-phonon interactions have additive impact on the final damage created per ion.

We consider a particular effect which can be expected in scenarios of deviations from special relativity induced by Planckian physics: the loss of additivity in the total energy of a system of particles. We argue about the necessity to introduce a length scale to control the effects of non-additivity for macroscopic objects and consider white dwarfs as an appropriate laboratory to test this kind of new physics. We study the sensitivity of the mass-radius relation of the Chandrasekhar model to these corrections by comparing the output of a simple phenomenological model to observational data of white dwarfs.

The capability for predicting the performance of thermalenergy storage (RES) subsystems and components using PCM's based on mathematical and physical models is developed. Mathematical models of the dynamic thermal behavior of (TES) subsystems using PCM's based on solutions of the moving boundary thermal conduction problem and on heat and mass transfer engineering correlations are also discussed.

Energy cost for buildings is an issue of concern for owners across the U.S. The bigger the building, the greater the concern. A part of this is due to the energy required to cool the building and the way in which charges are set when paying for energy consumed during different times of the day. This study will prove that designing ice thermal storage properly will minimize energy cost in buildings. The effectiveness of ice thermal storage as a means to reduce energy costs lies within transferring the time of most energy consumption from on-peak to off-peak periods. Multiple variables go into the equation of finding the optimal use of ice thermal storage and they are all judged with the final objective of minimizing monthly energy costs. This research discusses the optimal design of ice thermal storage and its impact on energy consumption, energy demand, and the total energy cost. A tool for optimal design of ice thermal storage is developed, considering variables such as chiller and ice storage sizes and charging and discharge times. The simulations take place in a four-story building and investigate the potential of Ice Thermal Storage as a resource in reducing and minimizing energy cost for cooling. The simulations test the effectiveness of Ice Thermal Storage implemented into the four-story building in ten locations across the United States.

Thermalenergy storage (TES) enables a solar dynamic system to deliver constant electric power through periods of sun and shade. Brayton and Stirling power systems under current considerations for missions in the near future require working fluid temperatures in the 1100 to 1300+ K range. TES materials that meet these requirements fall into the fluoride family of salts. These salts store energy as a heat of fusion, thereby transferring heat to the fluid at constant temperature during shade. The principal feature of fluorides that must be taken into account is the change in volume that occurs with melting and freezing. Salts shrink as they solidify, a change reaching 30 percent for some salts. The location of voids that form as result of the shrinkage is critical when the solar dynamic system reemerges into the sun. Hot spots can develop in the TES container or the container can become distorted if the melting salt cannot expand elsewhere. Analysis of the transient, two-phase phenomenon is being incorporated into a three-dimensional computer code. The code is capable of analysis under microgravity as well as 1 g. The objective of the flight program is to verify the predictions of the code, particularly of the void location and its effect on containment temperature. The four experimental packages comprising the program will be the first tests of melting and freezing conducted under microgravity. Each test package will be installed in a Getaway Special container to be carried by the shuttle. The package will be self-contained and independent of shuttle operations other than the initial opening of the container lid and the final closing of the lid. Upon the return of the test package from flight, the TES container will be radiographed and finally partitioned to examine the exact location and shape of the void. Visual inspection of the void and the temperature data during flight will constitute the bases for code verification.

Determining the feasibility of using aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES) for a particular heating or cooling application is an interdisciplinary effort, requiring (at a minimum) expertise in engineering and hydrology. The feasibility study should proceed in two distinct stages. The first stage, which is limited in scope and detail, is intended to show if an ATES system is technically and economically suited to the application. Focus of this preliminary investigation is on revealing the existence of factors that might weigh heavily against the use of ATES methods, and, in the absence of such factors, on choosing a suitable scale for the ATES plant and well field. The results of the preliminary investigation are used to determine if more detailed investigation--including field studies--are justified, and to facilitate comparing the advantages of ATES to those of other means of providing heating or cooling. The second stage of the feasibility study focuses on detailed aquifer characterization, refinement of engineering design and cost estimates, and economic and environmental risk analysis. The results of this investigation, if favorable, will be used to justify the expense of constructing the ATES system.

Functional coatings are widely used in energy generation equipment in industries such as renewables, oil and gas, propulsion engines, and gas turbines. Intelligent thermal spray processing is vital in many of these areas for efficient manufacturing. Advanced thermal spray coating applications include thermal management, wear, oxidation, corrosion resistance, sealing systems, vibration and sound absorbance, and component repair. This paper reviews the current status of materials, equipment, processing, and properties' aspects for key coatings in the energy industry, especially the developments in large-scale gas turbines. In addition to the most recent industrial advances in thermal spray technologies, future technical needs are also highlighted.

Chemical incompatibility and low thermal conductivity issues of molten-salt-based thermalenergy storage materials can be addressed by using microstructured composites. Using a eutectic mixture of lithium and sodium carbonates as molten salt, magnesium oxide as supporting material, and graphite as thermal conductivity enhancer, the microstructural development, chemical compatibility, thermal stability, thermal conductivity, and thermalenergy storage performance of composite materials are investigated. The ceramic supporting material is essential for preventing salt leakage and hence provides a solution to the chemical incompatibility issue. The use of graphite gives a significant enhancement on the thermal conductivity of the composite. Analyses suggest that the experimentally observed microstructural development of the composite is associated with the wettability of the salt on the ceramic substrate and that on the thermal conduction enhancer.

Thermal anisotropy along the basal plane of materials possesses both theoretical importance and application value in thermal transport and thermoelectricity. Though common two-dimensional materials may exhibit in-plane thermal anisotropy when suspended, thermal anisotropy would often disappear when supported on a substrate. In this Letter, we find a strong anisotropy enhancement of thermalenergy transport in supported black phosphorene. The chiral preference of energy transport in the zigzag rather than the armchair direction is greatly enhanced by coupling to the substrate, up to a factor of approximately 2-fold compared to the suspended one. The enhancement originates from its puckered lattice structure, where the nonplanar armchair energy transport relies on the out-of-plane corrugation and thus would be hindered by the flexural suppression due to the substrate, while the planar zigzag energy transport is not. As a result, thermal conductivity of supported black phosphorene shows a consistent anisotropy enhancement under different temperatures and substrate coupling strengths.

Molecular motors in biological systems are expected to use ambient fluctuation. In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 5251 (1998)], it was shown that the following question was unanswered: Can thermal noise facilitate energy conversion by ratchet system? We consider it using stochastic energetics, and show that there exist systems where thermal noise helps the energy conversion.

Among various utilizations of solar energy, solar-thermal conversion has recently gained renewed research interest due to its extremely high energy efficiency. However, one limiting factor common to all solar-based energy conversion technologies is the intermittent nature of solar irradiation, which makes them unable to stand-alone to satisfy the continuous energy need. Herein, we report a three-dimensional (3D) graphene foam and phase change material (PCM) composite for the seamlessly combined solar-thermal conversion and thermal storage for sustained energy release. The composite is obtained by infiltrating the 3D graphene foam with a commonly used PCM, paraffin wax. The high macroporosity and low density of the graphene foam allow for high weight fraction of the PCM to be incorporated, which enhances the heat storage capacity of the composite. The interconnected graphene sheets in the composite provide (1) the solar-thermal conversion capability, (2) high thermal conductivity and (3) form stability of the composite. Under light irradiation, the composite effectively collects and converts the light energy into thermalenergy, and the converted thermalenergy is stored in the PCM and released in an elongated period of time for sustained utilization. This study provides a promising route for sustainable utilization of solar energy.Among various utilizations of solar energy, solar-thermal conversion has recently gained renewed research interest due to its extremely high energy efficiency. However, one limiting factor common to all solar-based energy conversion technologies is the intermittent nature of solar irradiation, which makes them unable to stand-alone to satisfy the continuous energy need. Herein, we report a three-dimensional (3D) graphene foam and phase change material (PCM) composite for the seamlessly combined solar-thermal conversion and thermal storage for sustained energy release. The composite is obtained by infiltrating the 3D graphene foam with a

Energy harvesting has significant potential for applications in energizing wireless sensors and charging energy storage devices. To date, one of the most widely investigated materials for mechanical and thermalenergy harvesting is lead zirconate titanate (PZT). However, lead has detrimental effects on the environment and on health. Hence, alternative materials are required for this purpose. In this paper, a lead free material, lithium niobate (LNB) is investigated as a potential material for pyroelectric energy harvesting. Although its theoretical pyroelectric properties are lower compared to PZT, it has better properties than other lead free alternatives such as ZnO. In addition, LNB has a high Curie temperature of about 1142 °C, which makes it applicable for high temperature energy harvesting, where other pyroelectric ceramics are not suitable. Herein, an energy harvesting and storage system composed of a single crystal LNB and a porous carbon-based super-capacitor was investigated. It is found that with controlled heating and cooling, a single wafer of LNB (75 mm diameter and 0.5 mm thickness) could generate 437.72 nW cm-3 of power and it could be used to charge a super-capacitor with a charging rate of 2.63 mV (h cm3)-1.

A water soluble polymer is described having thermal stability and exhibiting utility as an aqueous drilling fluid additive comprising: (a) a major portion of a catechol based monomer; (b) a minor portion of a dicarboxylic acid monomer.

The impact of improved building shell thermal efficiency on residential energy demand is explored in a theoretical framework. The important economic literature on estimating the price elasticity of residential energy demand is reviewed. The specification of the residential energy demand model is presented. The data used are described. The empirical estimation of the residential energy demand model is described. (MHR)

An improved open cycle ocean thermalenergy conversion system including a flash evaporator for vaporizing relatively warm ocean surface water and an axial flow, elastic fluid turbine having a vertical shaft and axis of rotation. The warm ocean water is transmitted to the evaporator through a first prestressed concrete skirt-conduit structure circumferentially situated about the axis of rotation. The unflashed warm ocean water exits the evaporator through a second prestressed concrete skirt-conduit structure located circumferentially about and radially within the first skirt-conduit structure. The radially inner surface of the second skirt conduit structure constitutes a cylinder which functions as the turbine's outer casing and obviates the need for a conventional outer housing. The turbine includes a radially enlarged disc element attached to the shaft for supporting at least one axial row of radially directed blades through which the steam is expanded. A prestressed concrete inner casing structure of the turbine has upstream and downstream portions respectively situated upstream and downstream from the disc element. The radially outer surfaces of the inner casing portions and radially outer periphery of the axially interposed disc cooperatively form a downwardly radially inwardly tapered surface. An annular steam flowpath of increasing flow area in the downward axial direction is radially bounded by the inner and outer prestressed concrete casing structures. The inner casing portions each include a transversely situated prestressed concrete circular wall for rotatably supporting the turbine shaft and associated structure. The turbine blades are substantially radially coextensive with the steam flowpath and receive steam from the evaporator through an annular array of prestressed concrete stationary vanes which extend between the inner and outer casings to provide structural support therefor and impart a desired flow direction to the steam.

conductivity of the soil is the most determinant parameter that affects the estimated thermal conductivity. For example, we observed differences of up to 50% from the expected value at the end of 100 hours of simulation for values of thermal conductivity of the soil in the range of 1 to 6 W/mK. Additionally, we observed that the results of the synthetic TRT depend upon several other parameters such as the boundary conditions used to model the interaction of the top face of the pile with the surrounding media. For example, Simulations with a constant temperature boundary condition tended to overestimate the total thermal conductivity of the whole system. This analysis demonstrates that numerical modeling is a useful tool to model energy pile systems and to interpret and design tests to evaluate their performance. Furthermore, it also reveals that the results of thermal response tests interpreted with analytical models must be evaluated with care for the assessment of the potential of low enthalpy systems, because their results depend upon a variety of factors which are neglected in the analytical models.

Passive solar systems integrated into residential structures significantly reduce heating energy consumption. Taking advantage of latent heat storage has further increased energy savings. This is accomplished by the incorporation of phase change materials into building materials used in passive applications. Trombe walls, ceilings and floors can all be enhanced with phase change materials. Increasing the thermal storage of floor tile by the addition of encapsulated paraffin wax is the proposed topic of research. Latent heat storage of a phase change material (PCM) is obtained during a change in phase. Typical materials use the latent heat released when the material changes from a liquid to a solid. Paraffin wax and salt hydrates are examples of such materials. Other PCMs that have been recently investigated undergo a phase transition from one solid form to another. During this process they will release heat. These are known as solid-state phase change materials. All have large latent heats, which makes them ideal for passive solar applications. Easy incorporation into various building materials is must for these materials. This proposal will address the advantages and disadvantages of using these materials in floor tile. Prototype tile will be made from a mixture of quartz, binder and phase change material. The thermal and structural properties of the prototype tiles will be tested fully. It is expected that with the addition of the phase change material the structural properties will be compromised to some extent. The ratio of phase change material in the tile will have to be varied to determine the best mixture to provide significant thermal storage, while maintaining structural properties that meet the industry standards for floor tile.

Solar-thermal fuels reversibly store solar energy in the chemical bonds of molecules by photoconversion, and can release this stored energy in the form of heat upon activation. Many conventional photoswichable molecules could be considered as solar thermal fuels, although they suffer from low energy density or short lifetime in the photoinduced high-energy metastable state, rendering their practical use unfeasible. We present a new approach to the design of chemistries for solar thermal fuel applications, wherein well-known photoswitchable molecules are connected by different linker agents to form molecular rings. This approach allows for a significant increase in both the amount of stored energy per molecule and the stability of the fuels. Our results suggest a range of possibilities for tuning the energy density and thermal stability as a function of the type of the photoswitchable molecule, the ring size, or the type of linkers.

With increasing focus on environmentally friendly technologies waste heat recycling became an important issue. Under certain circumstances subsurface environment could be utilized to accommodate relatively large quantity of heat. Industrial waste heat produced during warm months can be stored in an underground thermalenergy storage (UTES) and used when needed. It is however a complex task to set up a sustainable UTES for industrial scale. Number of parameters has to be studied and evaluated by means of thermohydromechanical and chemical coupling (THMC) before any UTES construction. Thermal characteristics of various rocks and its stability under thermal loading are amongst the most essential. In the Czech Republic study two complementary projects THMC processes during an UTES operation. The RESEN project (www.resen.cz) employs laboratory tests and experiments to characterise thermal properties of hard rocks in the Bohemian Massif. Aim of the project is to point out the most suitable rock environment in the Bohemian Massif for moderate to ultra-high temperature UTES construction (Sanyal, 2005). The VITA project (www.geology.cz/mokrsko) studies THM coupling in non-electrical temperature UTES using long term in-situ experiment. In both projects thermal properties of rocks were studied. Thermal conductivity and capacity were measured on rock samples. In addition an influence of increasing temperature and moisture content was considered. Ten hard rocks were investigated. The set included two sandstones, two ignibrites, a melaphyr, a syenite, two granites, a gneiss and a serpentinite. For each rock there were measured thermal conductivity and capacity of at least 54 dried samples. Subsequently, the samples were heated up to 380°C in 8 hours and left to cool down. Thermal characteristics were measured during the heating period and after the sample reached room temperature. Heating and cooling cycle was repeated 7 to 10 times to evaluate possible UTES-like degradation of

In the United States, electricity consumers are told that they can "buy" electricity from renewable energy projects, versus fossil fuel-fired facilities, through participation in a voluntary green power program. The marketing messages communicate to consumers that their participation and premium payments for a green label will cause additional renewable energy generation and thereby allow them to claim they consume electricity that is absent pollution as well as reduce pollutant emissions. Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and wind energy are the basis for the majority of the voluntary green power market in the United States. This dissertation addresses the question: Do project developers respond to the voluntary REC market in the United States by altering their decisions to invest in wind turbines? This question is investigated by modeling and probabilistically quantifying the effect of the voluntary REC market on a representative wind power investor in the United States using data from formal expert elicitations of active participants in the industry. It is further explored by comparing the distribution of a sample of wind power projects supplying the voluntary green power market in the United States against an economic viability model that incorporates geographic factors. This dissertation contributes the first quantitative analysis of the effect of the voluntary REC market on project investment. It is found that 1) RECs should be not treated as equivalent to emission offset credits, 2) there is no clearly credible role for voluntary market RECs in emissions trading markets without dramatic restructuring of one or both markets and the environmental commodities they trade, and 3) the use of RECs in entity-level GHG emissions accounting (i.e., "carbon footprinting") leads to double counting of emissions and therefore is not justified. The impotence of the voluntary REC market was, at least in part, due to the small magnitude of the REC price signal and lack of

Film energetics are becoming increasingly popular because a variety of technologies are driving a need for localized energy generation in a stable, safe and flexible form. Aluminum (Al) and molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) composites were mixed into a silicon binder and extruded using a blade casting technique to form flexible free-standing films ideal for localized energy generation. Since this material can be extruded onto a surface it is well suited to additive manufacturing applications. This study examines the influence of 0-35% by mass potassium perchlorate (KClO₄) additive on the combustion behavior of these energetic films. Without KClO₄ the film exhibits thermal instabilities that produce unsteady energy propagation upon reaction. All films were cast at a thickness of 1 mm with constant volume percent solids to ensure consistent rheological properties. The films were ignited and flame propagation was measured. The results show that as the mass percent KClO₄ increased, the flame speed increased and peaked at 0.43 cm/s and 30 wt% KClO₄. Thermochemical equilibrium simulations show that the heat of combustion increases with increasing KClO₄ concentration up to a maximum at 20 wt% when the heat of combustion plateaus, indicating that the increased chemical energy liberated by the additional KClO₄ promotes stable energy propagation. Differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analysis show that the silicone binder participates as a fuel and reacts with KClO₄ adding energy to the reaction and promoting propagation.

The storage of coolness'' has been in use in limited applications for more than a half century. Recently, because of high electricity costs during utilities' peak power periods, thermal storage for cooling has become a prime target for load management strategies. Systems with cool storage shift all or part of the electricity requirement from peak to off-peak hours to take advantage of reduced demand charges and/or off-peak rates. Thermal storage technology applies equally to industrial, commercial, and residential sectors. In the industrial sector, because of the lack of economic incentives and the custom design required for each application, the penetration of this technology has been limited to a few industries. The penetration rate in the residential sector has been also very limited due to the absence of economic incentives, sizing problems, and the lack of compact packaged systems. To date, the most promising applications of these systems, therefore, appear to be for commercial cooling. In this report, the current and potential use of thermalenergy storage systems for cooling commercial buildings is investigated. In addition, a general overview of the technology is presented and the applicability and cost-effectiveness of this technology for developed and developing countries are discussed. 28 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.

Thermalenergy storage technology and development of building heating and cooling applications in the residential and commercial sectors is outlined. Three elements are identified to undergo an applications assessment, technology development, and demonstration. Emphasis is given to utility load management thermalenergy system application where the stress is on the 'customer side of the meter'. Thermal storage subsystems for space conditioning and conservation means of increased thermal mass within the building envelope and by means of low-grade waste heat recovery are covered.

Among various utilizations of solar energy, solar-thermal conversion has recently gained renewed research interest due to its extremely high energy efficiency. However, one limiting factor common to all solar-based energy conversion technologies is the intermittent nature of solar irradiation, which makes them unable to stand-alone to satisfy the continuous energy need. Herein, we report a three-dimensional (3D) graphene foam and phase change material (PCM) composite for the seamlessly combined solar-thermal conversion and thermal storage for sustained energy release. The composite is obtained by infiltrating the 3D graphene foam with a commonly used PCM, paraffin wax. The high macroporosity and low density of the graphene foam allow for high weight fraction of the PCM to be incorporated, which enhances the heat storage capacity of the composite. The interconnected graphene sheets in the composite provide (1) the solar-thermal conversion capability, (2) high thermal conductivity and (3) form stability of the composite. Under light irradiation, the composite effectively collects and converts the light energy into thermalenergy, and the converted thermalenergy is stored in the PCM and released in an elongated period of time for sustained utilization. This study provides a promising route for sustainable utilization of solar energy.

To meet the planned heating and cooling load growth at the Texas Medical Center (TMC), ThermalEnergy Corporation (TECO) implemented Phase 1 of a Master Plan to install an additional 32,000 tons of chilled water capacity, a 75,000 ton-hour (8.8 million gallon) ThermalEnergy Storage (TES) tank, and a 48 MW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system. The Department of Energy selected TMC for a $10 million grant award as part of the Financial Assistance Funding Opportunity Announcement, U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology, Recovery Act: Deployment of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems, District Energy Systems, Waste Energy Recovery Systems, and Efficiency Industrial Equipment Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0000044 to support the installation of a new 48 MW CHP system at the TMC located just outside downtown Houston. As the largest medical center in the world, TMC is home to many of the nation's best hospitals, physicians, researchers, educational institutions, and health care providers. TMC provides care to approximately six million patients each year, and medical instruction to over 71,000 students. A medical center the size of TMC has enormous electricity and thermalenergy demands to help it carry out its mission. Reliable, high-quality steam and chilled water are of utmost importance to the operations of its many facilities. For example, advanced medical equipment, laboratories, laundry facilities, space heating and cooling all rely on the generation of heat and power. As result of this project TECO provides this mission critical heating and cooling to TMC utilizing a system that is both energy-efficient and reliable since it provides the capability to run on power independent of the already strained regional electric grid. This allows the medical center to focus on its primary mission providing top quality medical care and instruction without worrying about excessive energy costs or the loss of heating and cooling due to the risk of power

Thermal dissipation of excitation energy is a fundamental photoprotection mechanism in plants. Thermalenergy dissipation is frequently estimated using the quenching of the chlorophyll fluorescence signal, termed non-photochemical quenching. Over the last two decades, great progress has been made in the understanding of the mechanism of thermalenergy dissipation through the use of a few model plants, mainly Arabidopsis. Nonetheless, an emerging number of studies suggest that this model represents only one strategy among several different solutions for the environmental adjustment of thermalenergy dissipation that have evolved among photosynthetic organisms in the course of evolution. In this review, a detailed analysis of three examples highlights the need to use models other than Arabidopsis: first, overwintering evergreens that develop a sustained form of thermalenergy dissipation; second, desiccation tolerant plants that induce rapid thermalenergy dissipation; and third, understorey plants in which a complementary lutein epoxide cycle modulates thermalenergy dissipation. The three examples have in common a shift from a photosynthetically efficient state to a dissipative conformation, a strategy widely distributed among stress-tolerant evergreen perennials. Likewise, they show a distinct operation of the xanthophyll cycle. Expanding the list of model species beyond Arabidopsis will enhance our knowledge of these mechanisms and increase the synergy of the current studies now dispersed over a wide number of species.

Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries provide low mass and energy dense solutions necessary for space exploration, but thermal related safety concerns impede the utilization of Li-ion technology for human applications. Experimental characterization of thermal runaway energy release with accelerated rate calorimetry supports safer thermal management systems. 'Standard' accelerated rate calorimetry setup provides means to measure the addition of energy exhibited through the body of a Li-ion cell. This study considers the total energy generated during thermal runaway as distributions between cell body and hot gases via inclusion of a unique secondary enclosure inside the calorimeter; this closed system not only contains the cell body and gaseous species, but also captures energy release associated with rapid heat transfer to the system unobserved by measurements taken on the cell body. Experiments include Boston Power Swing 5300, Samsung 18650-26F and MoliCel 18650-J Li-ion cells at varied states-of-charge. An inverse relationship between state-of-charge and onset temperature is observed. Energy contained in the cell body and gaseous species are successfully characterized; gaseous energy is minimal. Significant additionalenergy is measured with the heating of the secondary enclosure. Improved calorimeter apparatus including a secondary enclosure provides essential capability to measuring total energy release distributions during thermal runaway.

Advanced Compressed-Air Energy Storage (ACAS) plants have the near-term potential to reduce the fuel consumption of compressed-air plants from 33 to 100%, depending upon their design. Fuel is saved by storing some or all of the heat of compression as sensible heat which is subsequently used to reheat the compressed air prior to expansion in the turbine generator. The thermal storage media required for this application must be low cost and durable. The objective of this project was to screen thermal store materials based on their thermal cycle durability, particulate formation and corrosion resistant characteristics. The materials investigated were iron oxide pellets, Denstone pebbles, cast-iron balls, and Dresser basalt rock. The study specifically addressed the problems of particle formation and thermal ratcheting of the materials during thermal cycling and the chemical attack on the materials by the high temperature and moist environment in an ACAS heat storage bed. The results indicate that from the durability standpoint Denstone, cast iron containing 27% or more chromium, and crushed Dresser basalt would possibly stand up to ACAS conditions. If costs are considered in addition to durability and performance, the crushed Dresser basalt would probably be the most desirable heat storage material for adiabatic and hybrid ACAS plants, and more in-depth longer term thermal cycling and materials testing of Dresser basalt is recommended. Also recommended is the redesign and costing analysis of both the hybrid and adiabatic ACAS facilities based upon the use of Dresser basalt as the thermal store material.

Thermalenergy storage systems designed for energy conservation through the recovery, storage, and reuse of industrial process waste heat are reviewed. Consideration is given to systems developed for primary aluminum, cement, the food processing industry, paper and pulp, and primary iron and steel. Projected waste-heat recovery and energy savings are listed for each category.

In an effort to address the need for improving the thermal stabilities of jet fuels, various additives are being examined. These include the antioxidant, BHT; a metal deactivator, MDA (N,N{prime}-Disalicylidene-1,2-propane diamine); a combination of BHT and MDA; and two dispersant/detergent additives, viz., a Betz and Mobil additive. In general, the additives were screened in three test fuels, viz., a refinery sampling blend (RSB), a JP-8, and a Jet A. Additive effectiveness on aging a fuel in the presence of 400 ppb copper was examined in the RSB fuel. Based on the studies conducted, the most effective additives were the MDA/BHT combination, the Betz, and the Mobil additive (when tested). For example, these additives significantly lowered the total thermal deposits formed for the copper-doped aged fuel. For the remaining two test fuels, differentiation in effectiveness among the additives screened was considerably less. These results, which are likely due to the test fuels being relatively thermally stable, focus on the necessity of using less stable fuels to better differentiate additive effectiveness.

The application of latent-heat buffer thermalenergy storage to a point-focusing solar receiver equipped with an air Brayton engine was studied. To demonstrate the effect of buffer thermalenergy storage on engine operation, a computer program was written which models the recuperator, receiver, and thermal storage device as finite-element thermal masses. Actual operating or predicted performance data are used for all components, including the rotating equipment. Based on insolation input and a specified control scheme, the program predicts the Brayton engine operation, including flows, temperatures, and pressures for the various components, along with the engine output power. An economic parametric study indicates that the economic viability of buffer thermalenergy storage is largely a function of the achievable engine life.

Development of photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors and residential heat pump systems is reported. Candidate collector and residential heat pump systems were evaluated using the TRNSYS computer program. It is found that combined heat pump and PV array is a promising method for achieving economical solar cooling. Where the cooling load is dominant, exclusively PV collectors rather than PV/T collectors are preferred. Where the heating load is dominant, the thermal component of PV/T collectors makes a significant contribution to heating a residence. PV/T collectors were developed whose combined efficiency approaches the efficiency of a double glazed, exclusively thermal collector. The design and operational problems of air source heat pumps are reviewed. Possible effects of compressor startup transients on PV power system operation are discussed.

The conversion and efficient storage of solar energy is recognized to hold significant potential with regard to future energy solutions. Molecular solar thermal batteries based on photochromic systems exemplify one possible technology able to harness and apply this potential. Herein is described the synthesis of a macrocycle based on a dimer of the dihydroazulene/vinylheptafulvene (DHA/VHF) photo/thermal couple. By taking advantage of conformational strain, this DHA-DHA macrocycle presents an improved ability to absorb and store incident light energy in chemical bonds (VHF-VHF). A stepwise energy release over two sequential ring-closing reactions (VHF→DHA) combines the advantages of an initially fast discharge, hypothetically addressing immediate energy consumption needs, followed by a slow process for consistent, long-term use. This exemplifies another step forward in the molecular engineering and design of functional organic materials towards solar thermalenergy storage and release.

In the manufacture of cement, literally trillions of Btu's are rejected to the environment each year. The purpose of this feasibility study program was to determine whether thermalenergy storage could be used to conserve or allow alternative uses of this rejected energy. This study identifies and quantifies the sources of rejected energy in the cement manufacturing process, established use of this energy, investigates various storage system concepts, and selects energy conservation systems for further study. Thermal performance and economic analyses are performed on candidate storage systems for four typical cement plants representing various methods of manufacturing cement. Through the use of thermalenergy storage in conjunction with waste heat electric power generation units, an estimated 2.4 x 10 to the 13th power Btu/year, or an equivalent on investment of the proposed systems are an incentive for further development.

Modification of surface and bulk properties of solids by irradiation with ion beams is a widely used technique with many applications in material science. In this study, we show that nano-hillocks on CaF2 crystal surfaces can be formed by individual impact of medium energy (3 and 5 MeV) highly charged ions (Xe22+ to Xe30+) as well as swift (kinetic energies between 12 and 58 MeV) heavy xenon ions. For very slow highly charged ions the appearance of hillocks is known to be linked to a threshold in potential energy (Ep) while for swift heavy ions a minimum electronic energy loss per unit length (Se) is necessary. With our results we bridge the gap between these two extreme cases and demonstrate, that with increasing energy deposition via Se the Ep-threshold for hillock production can be lowered substantially. Surprisingly, both mechanisms of energy deposition in the target surface seem to contribute in an additive way, which can be visualized in a phase diagram. We show that the inelastic thermal spike model, originally developed to describe such material modifications for swift heavy ions, can be extended to the case where both kinetic and potential energies are deposited into the surface.

Modification of surface and bulk properties of solids by irradiation with ion beams is a widely used technique with many applications in material science. In this study, we show that nano-hillocks on CaF2 crystal surfaces can be formed by individual impact of medium energy (3 and 5 MeV) highly charged ions (Xe(22+) to Xe(30+)) as well as swift (kinetic energies between 12 and 58 MeV) heavy xenon ions. For very slow highly charged ions the appearance of hillocks is known to be linked to a threshold in potential energy (Ep) while for swift heavy ions a minimum electronic energy loss per unit length (Se) is necessary. With our results we bridge the gap between these two extreme cases and demonstrate, that with increasing energy deposition via Se the Ep-threshold for hillock production can be lowered substantially. Surprisingly, both mechanisms of energy deposition in the target surface seem to contribute in an additive way, which can be visualized in a phase diagram. We show that the inelastic thermal spike model, originally developed to describe such material modifications for swift heavy ions, can be extended to the case where both kinetic and potential energies are deposited into the surface.

Householders play a role in energy conservation through the decisions they make about purchases and installations such as insulation, and through their habitual behavior. The present U.K. study investigated the effect of thermal imaging technology on energy conservation, by measuring the behavioral effect after householders viewed images of heat escaping from or cold air entering their homes. In Study 1 (n = 43), householders who received a thermal image reduced their energy use at a 1-year follow-up, whereas householders who received a carbon footprint audit and a non-intervention control demonstrated no change. In Study 2 (n = 87), householders were nearly 5 times more likely to install draught proofing measures after seeing a thermal image. The effect was especially pronounced for actions that addressed an issue visible in the images. Findings indicate that using thermal imaging to make heat loss visible can promote energy conservation.

Energy consumption of residential buildings and offices adds up to about 30% of total carbon dioxide emissions; and occupant behaviour contributes to 80% of the variation in energy consumption. Indoor climate regulations are based on an empirical thermal comfort model that was developed in the 1960s (ref. ). Standard values for one of its primary variables--metabolic rate--are based on an average male, and may overestimate female metabolic rate by up to 35% (ref. ). This may cause buildings to be intrinsically non-energy-efficient in providing comfort to females. Therefore, we make a case to use actual metabolic rates. Moreover, with a biophysical analysis we illustrate the effect of miscalculating metabolic rate on female thermal demand. The approach is fundamentally different from current empirical thermal comfort models and builds up predictions from the physical and physiological constraints, rather than statistical association to thermal comfort. It provides a substantiation of the thermal comfort standard on the population level and adds flexibility to predict thermal demand of subpopulations and individuals. Ultimately, an accurate representation of thermal demand of all occupants leads to actual energy consumption predictions and real energy savings of buildings that are designed and operated by the buildings services community.

A device and method for burning wood for the purpose of heat generation is disclosed. The device has a flat grate on which the fuel is placed and a vertical combustion air inlet passage which discharges the air as a wide, flat ribbon at one end of the combustion chamber substantially at the top surface of the grate. Combustion is confined to a zone which progressively moves along the grate away from the air unit. The combustion gases are collected at the top of the combustion chamber which is arched and arranged to cause them to spiral and while still in the combustion chamber and at autogenic temperature to mix with additional, partially heated air to complete the combustion process. The exhaust route for the combustion gases is elongated and doubled back upon itself to delay discharge and allow sufficient time to effectively heat exchange with the thermalenergy transport and distribution medium.

This report relates model tests of a generic Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) platform. The objective of these tests is to aid in the evaluation of new OTEC designs and to present a data base for design purposes. The test plant has been designed to provide a data base for comparison with current and projected analytical tools as well as comparisons of results from one model configuration to another. The new conceptual OTEC designs are different from the typical offshore (jacket type) structure which is quite transparent to waves. The major difference is the addition of large submerged power production modules to the frame. These proposed modules offer a large surface area to obstruct the flow and thereby increase the global wave forces acting on the structure.

Direct contact heat exchange offers the potential for increased efficiency and lower heat transfer costs in a variety of thermalenergy storage systems. Models of direct contact heat transfer based on literature information identified dispersed phase drop size, the mechanism of heat transfer within the drop, and dispersed phase holdup as the parameters controlling direct contact system performance. Tests were defined and equipment constructed to provide independent determination of drop size, heat transfer mechanism, and hold up. Experiments with heptane dispersed in water are described. The velocity at which drop formation changes from dropwise to jetting was overpredicted by all literature correlations. Further experiments are needed to conclusively determine whether the salt in a salt hydrate melt acts to block internal circulation. In addition, the potential of low temperature oil/salt hydrate latent heat storage systems is evaluated in the laboratory.

A pulse-thermal pump having a novel fluid flow wherein heat admitted to a closed system raises the pressure in a closed evaporator chamber while another interconnected evaporator chamber remains open. This creates a large pressure differential, and at a predetermined pressure the closed evaporator is opened and the opened evaporator is closed. This difference in pressure initiates fluid flow in the system.

This is the reference manual of the Seasonal ThermalEnergy Storage (STES) Program, and is the primary document for the transfer of technical information of the STES Program. It has been issued in preliminary form and will be updated periodically to include more technical data and results of research. As the program progresses and new technical data become available, sections of the manual will be revised to incorporate these data. This primary document contains summaries of: the TRW, incorporated demonstration project at Behtel, Alaska, Dames and Moore demonstration project at Stony Brook, New York, and the University of Minnesota demonstration project at Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; the technical support programs including legal/institutional assessment; economic assessment; environmental assessment; field test facilities; a compendia of existing information; numerical simulation; and non-aquifer STES concepts. (LCL)

A large, vertical, circular fracture created deep within hot rock is connected to the surface through two holes. The inlet provides a source of cold water and the outlet extracts heated water. Cooling of the rock produces thermal stresses that fracture the rock adjacent to the primary crack, thereby enhancing the heat extraction rate by means of convective transport. The properties of the thermal fracture network vary with position and time. The REX code for high-speed computer was written and used to study the coupled processes of primary-crack flow and lateral thermal fracture heat transport. Calculations for elapsed times of 100 y show that thermal fracture enhancement can double the heat extraction rate over the results from conduction alone. Long-term enhancement predictions depend on data from rock-mechanics studies, which the REX code is prepared to accept as they become available.

With the growing governmental restrictions on carbon emission, renewable energies are becoming more prevalent. A reliable use of a renewable source however requires a built-in storage to overcome the inherent intermittent nature of the available energy. Thermal design of a solid state energy storage has been investigated for optimal performance. The impact of flow regime, laminar vs. turbulent, on the design and sizing of the system is also studied. The implications of low thermal conductivity of the storage material are discussed and a design that maximizes the round trip efficiency is presented. This study was supported by Award No. EPC-14-027 Granted by California Energy Commission (CEC).

This document updates and expands the report with a similar title issued in October 1980. This document examines a number of legal and regulatory issues that potentially can affect implementation of the aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES) concept. This concept involves the storage of thermalenergy in an underground aquifer until a later date when it can be effectively utilized. Either heat energy or chill can be stored. Potential end uses of the energy include district space heating and cooling, industrial process applications, and use in agriculture or aquaculture. Issues are examined in four categories: regulatory requirements, property rights, potential liability, and issues related to heat or chill delivery.

A goal of current energy research is to design systems and devices that can efficiently exploit waste heat and utilize solar or geothermal heat energy for electrical power generation. We demonstrate a novel technique exploiting water's large coefficient of thermal expansion, wherein modest thermal gradients produce the requisite high pressure for driving fast-flowing liquid water microjets, which can effect the direct conversion of the kinetic energy into electricity and gaseous hydrogen. Waste heat in thermoelectric generating plants and combustion engines, as well as solar and geothermal energy could be used to drive these systems.

The research and development described in this document was conducted within the US Department of Energy's Solar Thermal Technology Program. The goal of this program is to advance the engineering and scientific understanding of solar thermal technology and to establish the technology base from which private industry can develop solar thermal power production options for introduction into the competitive energy market. Solar thermal technology concentrates the solar flux using tracking mirrors or lenses onto a receiver where the solar energy is absorbed as heat and converted into electricity or incorporated into products as process heat. The two primary solar thermal technologies, central receivers and distributed receivers, employ various point and line-focus optics to concentrate sunlight. Current central receiver systems use fields of heliostats (two-axes tracking mirrors) to focus the sun's radiant energy onto a single, tower-mounted receiver. Point focus concentrators up to 17 meters in diameter track the sun in two axes and use parabolic dish mirrors or Fresnel lenses to focus radiant energy onto a receiver. Troughs and bowls are line-focus tracking reflectors that concentrate sunlight onto receiver tubes along their focal lines. Concentrating collector modules can be used alone or in a multimodule system. The concentrated radiant energy absorbed by the solar thermal receiver is transported to the conversion process by a circulating working fluid. Receiver temperatures range from 100{degree}C in low-temperature troughs to over 1500{degree}C in dish and central receiver systems. 12 refs., 119 figs., 4 tabs.

Smart applications of the Internet of Things are improving the performance of buildings, reducing energy demand. Local and smart networks, soft computing methodologies, machine intelligence algorithms and pervasive sensors are some of the basics of energy optimization strategies developed for the benefit of environmental sustainability and user comfort. This work presents a distributed sensor-processor-communication decision-making architecture to improve the acquisition, storage and transfer of thermalenergy in buildings. The developed system is implemented in a near Zero-Energy Building (nZEB) prototype equipped with a built-in thermal solar collector, where optical properties are analysed; a low enthalpy geothermal accumulation system, segmented in different temperature zones; and an envelope that includes a dynamic thermal barrier. An intelligent control of this dynamic thermal barrier is applied to reduce the thermalenergy demand (heating and cooling) caused by daily and seasonal weather variations. Simulations and experimental results are presented to highlight the nZEB thermalenergy reduction.

Smart applications of the Internet of Things are improving the performance of buildings, reducing energy demand. Local and smart networks, soft computing methodologies, machine intelligence algorithms and pervasive sensors are some of the basics of energy optimization strategies developed for the benefit of environmental sustainability and user comfort. This work presents a distributed sensor-processor-communication decision-making architecture to improve the acquisition, storage and transfer of thermalenergy in buildings. The developed system is implemented in a near Zero-Energy Building (nZEB) prototype equipped with a built-in thermal solar collector, where optical properties are analysed; a low enthalpy geothermal accumulation system, segmented in different temperature zones; and an envelope that includes a dynamic thermal barrier. An intelligent control of this dynamic thermal barrier is applied to reduce the thermalenergy demand (heating and cooling) caused by daily and seasonal weather variations. Simulations and experimental results are presented to highlight the nZEB thermalenergy reduction. PMID:26528978

A novel approach to storing thermalenergy with supercritical fluids is being investigated, which if successful, promises to transform the way thermalenergy is captured and utilized. The use of supercritical fluids allows cost-affordable high-density storage with a combination of latent heat and sensible heat in the two-phase as well as the supercritical state. This technology will enhance penetration of several thermal power generation applications and high temperature water for commercial use if the overall cost of the technology can be demonstrated to be lower than the current state-of-the-art molten salt using sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate eutectic mixtures.

The dark sector is described by an additional barotropic fluid which evolves adiabatically during the Universe's history and whose adiabatic exponent γ is derived from the standard definitions of specific heats. Although in general γ is a function of the redshift, the Hubble parameter and its derivatives, we find that our assumptions lead necessarily to solutions with γ =constant in a Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe. The adiabatic fluid acts effectively as the sum of two distinct components, one evolving like nonrelativistic matter and the other depending on the value of the adiabatic index. This makes the model particularly interesting as a way of simultaneously explaining the nature of both dark energy and dark matter, at least at the level of the background cosmology. The Λ CDM model is included in this family of theories when γ =0 . We fit our model to supernovae Ia, H (z ) and baryonic acoustic oscillation data, discussing the model selection criteria. The implications for the early Universe and the growth of small perturbations in this model are also discussed.

Historically thermal comfort in buildings has been controlled by simple dry bulb temperature settings. As we move into more sophisticated low energy building systems that make use of alternate systems such as natural ventilation, mixed mode system and radiant thermal conditioning strategies, a more complete understanding of human comfort is needed for both design and control. This guide will support building designers, owners, operators and other stakeholders in defining quantifiable thermal comfort parameters?these can be used to support design, energy analysis and the evaluation of the thermal comfort benefits of design strategies. This guide also contains information that building owners and operators will find helpful for understanding the core concepts of thermal comfort. Whether for one building, or for a portfolio of buildings, this guide will also assist owners and designers in how to identify the mechanisms of thermal comfort and space conditioning strategies most important for their building and climate, and provide guidance towards low energy design options and operations that can successfully address thermal comfort. An example of low energy design options for thermal comfort is presented in some detail for cooling, while the fundamentals to follow a similar approach for heating are presented.

The chemistry of lubricant additives is discussed to show what the additives are chemically and what functions they perform in the lubrication of various kinds of equipment. Current theories regarding the mode of action of lubricant additives are presented. The additive groups discussed include the following: (1) detergents and dispersants, (2) corrosion inhibitors, (3) antioxidants, (4) viscosity index improvers, (5) pour point depressants, and (6) antifouling agents.

Direct collection, conversion and storage of solar radiation as thermalenergy are crucial to the efficient utilization of renewable solar energy and the reduction of global carbon footprint. This work reports a facile approach for rapid and efficient charging of thermalenergy storage materials by the instant and intense photothermal effect of uniformly distributed plasmonic nanoparticles. Upon illumination with both green laser light and sunlight, the prepared plasmonic nanocomposites with volumetric ppm level of filler concentration demonstrated a faster heating rate, a higher heating temperature and a larger heating area than the conventional thermal diffusion based approach. With controlled dispersion, we further demonstrated that the light-to-heat conversion and thermal storage properties of the plasmonic nanocomposites can be fine-tuned by engineering the composition of the nanocomposites.

Direct collection, conversion and storage of solar radiation as thermalenergy are crucial to the efficient utilization of renewable solar energy and the reduction of global carbon footprint. This work reports a facile approach for rapid and efficient charging of thermalenergy storage materials by the instant and intense photothermal effect of uniformly distributed plasmonic nanoparticles. Upon illumination with both green laser light and sunlight, the prepared plasmonic nanocomposites with volumetric ppm level of filler concentration demonstrated a faster heating rate, a higher heating temperature and a larger heating area than the conventional thermal diffusion based approach. With controlled dispersion, we further demonstrated that the light-to-heat conversion and thermal storage properties of the plasmonic nanocomposites can be fine-tuned by engineering the composition of the nanocomposites. PMID:25175717

Laser damage thresholds were determined for exposure to 2.5-ms 532-nm pulses in an established in vitro retinal model. Single and multiple pulses (10, 100, 1000) were delivered to the cultured cells at three different pulse repetition frequency (PRF) values, and overt damage (membrane breach) was scored 1 hr post laser exposure. Trends in the damage data within and across the PRF range identified significant thermaladditivity as PRF was increased, as evidenced by drastically reduced threshold values (< 40% of single-pulse value). Microthermography data that were collected in real time during each exposure also provided evidence of thermaladditivity between successive laser pulses. Using thermal profiles simulated at high temporal resolution, damage threshold values were predicted by an in-house computational model. Our simulated ED50 value for a single 2.5-ms pulse was in very good agreement with experimental results, but ED50 predictions for multiple-pulse trains will require more refinement.

This document presents the findings of a technology market assessment for thermalenergy storage (TES) in space cooling applications. The potential impact of TES in Federal facilities is modeled using the Federal building inventory with the appropriate climatic and energy cost data. In addition, this assessment identified acceptance issues and major obstacles through interviews with energy services companies (ESCOs), TES manufacturers, and Federal facility staff.

The thermal effects on the energies of the isoscalar giant multipole resonances of hot nuclei are discussed and an approximate formula for the energy as a function of temperature is derived via a hydrodynamic theory. The energy difference between the isoscalar giant multipole resonance of a hot nucleus and its ground-state resonance depends on the competition between the volume expansion and the increase of the average kinetic energy per nucleon of hot nuclei, which lower and raise the resonance energy, respectively, and nearly counteract each other in magnitude. The variaiton of the isoscalar giant resonance energy with temperature is very small.

This paper presents a solely thermal flare, which we detected in the microwave range from the thermal gyro- and free–free emission it produced. An advantage of analyzing thermal gyro emission is its unique ability to precisely yield the magnetic field in the radiating volume. When combined with observationally deduced plasma density and temperature, these magnetic field measurements offer a straightforward way of tracking evolution of the magnetic and thermalenergies in the flare. For the event described here, the magnetic energy density in the radio-emitting volume declines over the flare rise phase, then stays roughly constant during the extended peak phase, but recovers to the original level over the decay phase. At the stage where the magnetic energy density decreases, the thermalenergy density increases; however, this increase is insufficient, by roughly an order of magnitude, to compensate for the magnetic energy decrease. When the magnetic energy release is over, the source parameters come back to nearly their original values. We discuss possible scenarios to explain this behavior.

We present a novel thermalenergy harvesting system using triboelectric effect. Recently, there has been intensive research efforts on energy harvesting using triboelectric effect, which can produce surprising amount of electric power (when compared to piezoelectric materials) by rubbing or touching (i.e, electric charge by contact and separation) two different materials together. Numerous studies have shown the possibility as an attractive alternative with good transparency, flexibility and low cost abilities for its use in wearable device and smart phone applications markets. However, its application has been limited to only vibration source, which can produce sustained oscillation with maintaining contact and separation states repeatedly for triboelectric effect. Thus, there has been no attempt toward thermalenergy source. The proposed approach can convert thermalenergy into electricity by pairing triboelectric effect and active ferromagnetic materials The objective of the research is to develop a new manufacturing process of design, fabrication, and testing of a Magneto-Thermo-Triboelectric Generator (MTTG). The results obtained from the approach show that MTTG devices have a feasible power energy conversion capability from thermalenergy sources. The tunable design of the device is such that it has efficient thermal capture over a wide range of operation temperature in waste heat.

An engineering evaluation of thermalenergy storage prototypes was performed in order to assess the development status of latent heat storage media. The testing and the evaluation of a prototype sodium hydroxide module is described. This module stored off-peak electrical energy as heat for later conversion to domestic hot water needs.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) activities related to ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) during fiscal year 1982 are described. The agency focus has been in the areas of providing ocean engineering and technical assistance to the Department of Energy (DOE), in streamlining the administration of the Federal OTEC licensing system, and in environmental assistance.

Molecular switching is a phenomenon by which a molecule reversibly changes its structure and state in response to external stimuli or energy. Herein, molecular switching is discussed from thermodynamic and kinetic aspects in terms of energy supply with an emphasis on the thermal switching exhibited by helicene oligomers. It includes the inversion of relative thermodynamic stability induced by temperature changes and molecular thermal hysteresis in a closed system. The thermal phenomenon associated with the oligomers involves population/concentration changes between metastable states under nonequilibrium thermodynamic control.

A thermal conductor for use with an electrochemical energy storage device is disclosed. The thermal conductor is attached to one or both of the anode and cathode contacts of an electrochemical cell. A resilient portion of the conductor varies in height or position to maintain contact between the conductor and an adjacent wall structure of a containment vessel in response to relative movement between the conductor and the wall structure. The thermal conductor conducts current into and out of the electrochemical cell and conducts thermalenergy between the electrochemical cell and thermally conductive and electrically resistive material disposed between the conductor and the wall structure. The thermal conductor may be fabricated to include a resilient portion having one of a substantially C-shaped, double C-shaped, Z-shaped, V-shaped, O-shaped, S-shaped, or finger-shaped cross-section. An elastomeric spring element may be configured so as to be captured by the resilient conductor for purposes of enhancing the functionality of the thermal conductor. The spring element may include a protrusion that provides electrical insulation between the spring conductor and a spring conductor of an adjacently disposed electrochemical cell in the presence of relative movement between the cells and the wall structure. The thermal conductor may also be fabricated from a sheet of electrically conductive material and affixed to the contacts of a number of electrochemical cells.

A small experimental solar collector test facility has been established on the campus of the University of Chicago. This capability has been used to explore applications of nonimaging optics for solar thermal concentration in three substantially different configurations: (1) a single stage system with moderate concentration on an evacuated absorber (a 5.25X evacuated tube Compound Parabolic Concentrator or CPC), (2) a two stage system with high concentration and a non-evacuated absorber (a 16X Fresnel lens/CPC type mirror) and (3) moderate concentration single stage systems with non-evacuated absorbers for lower temperature (a 3X and a 6.5X CPC). Prototypes of each of these systems have been designed, built and tested. The performance characteristics are presented. In addition a 73 m/sup 2/ experimental array of 3X non-evacuated CPC's has been installed in a school heating system on the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico. The full array has a peak noon time efficiency of approx. 50% at ..delta..T = 50/sup 0/C above ambient and has supplied about half the school's heat load for the past two heating seasons. Several theoretical features of nonimaging concentration have been investigated including their long term energy collecting behavior. The measured performance of the different systems shows clearly that non-tracking concentrators can provide solar thermalenergy from moderately high low temperature regimes (> 50/sup 0/C above ambient) up into the mid-temperature region (well above 200/sup 0/C above ambient). The measured efficiency at 220/sup 0/C for the 5.25X CPC was as high or higher than that for any of the commercial tracking systems tested.

Film energetics are becoming increasingly popular because a variety of technologies are driving a need for localized energy generation in a stable, safe and flexible form. Aluminum (Al) and molybdenum trioxide (MoO{sub 3}) composites were mixed into a silicon binder and extruded using a blade casting technique to form flexible free-standing films ideal for localized energy generation. Since this material can be extruded onto a surface it is well suited to additive manufacturing applications. This study examines the influence of 0-35% by mass potassium perchlorate (KClO{sub 4}) additive on the combustion behavior of these energetic films. Without KClO{sub 4} the film exhibits thermal instabilities that produce unsteady energy propagation upon reaction. All films were cast at a thickness of 1 mm with constant volume percent solids to ensure consistent rheological properties. The films were ignited and flame propagation was measured. The results show that as the mass percent KClO{sub 4} increased, the flame speed increased and peaked at 0.43 cm/s and 30 wt% KClO{sub 4}. Thermochemical equilibrium simulations show that the heat of combustion increases with increasing KClO{sub 4} concentration up to a maximum at 20 wt% when the heat of combustion plateaus, indicating that the increased chemical energy liberated by the additional KClO{sub 4} promotes stable energy propagation. Differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analysis show that the silicone binder participates as a fuel and reacts with KClO{sub 4} adding energy to the reaction and promoting propagation.

Film energetics are becoming increasingly popular because a variety of technologies are driving a need for localized energy generation in a stable, safe and flexible form. Aluminum (Al) and molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) composites were mixed into a silicon binder and extruded using a blade casting technique to form flexible free-standing films ideal for localized energy generation. Since this material can be extruded onto a surface it is well suited to additive manufacturing applications. This study examines the influence of 0-35% by mass potassium perchlorate (KClO4) additive on the combustion behavior of these energetic films. Without KClO4 the film exhibits thermal instabilities that produce unsteady energy propagation upon reaction. All films were cast at a thickness of 1 mm with constant volume percent solids to ensure consistent rheological properties. The films were ignited and flame propagation was measured. The results show that as the mass percent KClO4 increased, the flame speed increased and peaked at 0.43 cm/s and 30 wt% KClO4. Thermochemical equilibrium simulations show that the heat of combustion increases with increasing KClO4 concentration up to a maximum at 20 wt% when the heat of combustion plateaus, indicating that the increased chemical energy liberated by the additional KClO4 promotes stable energy propagation. Differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analysis show that the silicone binder participates as a fuel and reacts with KClO4 adding energy to the reaction and promoting propagation.

The technical and economic feasibility of fluid bed heat exchangers (FBHX) for thermalenergy storage (TES) in waste heat recovery applications is assessed by analysis of two selected conceptual systems, the rotary cement kiln and the electric arc furnace. It is shown that the inclusion of TES in the energy recovery system requires that the difference in off-peak and on-peak energy rates be large enough so that the value of the recovered energy exceeds the value of the stored energy by a wide enough margin to offset parasitic power and thermal losses. Escalation of on-peak energy rates due to fuel shortages could make the FBHX/TES applications economically attractive in the future.

Vu-graphs are presented that show that applications are a viable distributed renewable power generation option. Quality energy can be produced in the form of electricity and high temperature heat. Modular systems are described that can be distributed to new or existing plants and that are mass producible with the associated economies of production.

Zirconia stabilized with 7+/-1 wt.% addition of yttria (7YSZ) is widely used for thermal barrier coatings (TBC's) on actively cooled gas turbine components, selected partly because of its superior durability under thermal cyclic conditions. As deposited, 7YSZ occurs as a metastable single-phase tetragonal solid solution (t') that is thermodynamically stable against the deleterious transformation to monoclinic upon cooling. However, at high temperatures t' is driven to decompose diffusionally into an equilibrium mixture of high-Y cubic and low-Y tetragonal; the latter becomes transformable to monoclinic compromising the mechanical integrity of the system. This dissertation explores the effects of trivalent stabilizers, including Y, Sc and selected rare-earth oxides (REO's), on the phase stability of the resulting solid solutions in zirconia. The REO additions are of interest because they can potentially enhance the insulation efficiency on the coating allowing higher operating temperatures. However, understanding of their effects on phase stability and potentially on cyclic durability at the projected use temperature in next generation engines (1200-1400°C) is insufficient to guide the design of coatings with the desirable combination of lower thermal conductivity and acceptable durability. Sc was also investigated because of previous reports on the higher phase stability of materials doped with Sc, and Y served as the baseline. The experimental approach is based on powders synthesized by reverse co-precipitation of precursor solutions, usually compacted and then subjected to a variety of heat treatments, following their evolution by means of X-ray diffractometry, dilatometry, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The use of powders facilitated the synthesis of a wider range of compositions that would not have been possible by coating deposition approaches, and because the synthesis occurs at low temperature, it also enabled the starting

The development of alternative methods for thermalenergy storage is important for improving the efficiency and decreasing the cost of concentrating solar thermal power. We focus on the underlying technology that allows metal hydrides to function as thermalenergy storage (TES) systems and highlight the current state-of-the-art materials that can operate at temperatures as low as room temperature and as high as 1100 °C. The potential of metal hydrides for thermal storage is explored, while current knowledge gaps about hydride properties, such as hydride thermodynamics, intrinsic kinetics and cyclic stability, are identified. The engineering challenges associated with utilising metal hydrides for high-temperature TES are also addressed.

Since 1985 Alcan has been operating equipment at a test site at the National Energy Laboratory of Hawaii at Keahole Point near Kona in Hawaii. Segments of aluminum heat exchangers are exposed to surface sea water at 27{degrees} C and to water from 2000 ft down coming in at 7{degrees} C. Progress was such that in 1988 Alcan contracted GEC to design a 250 kW pilot facility. The cold deep water, suitable for air conditioning, is rich in nutrients and the hierarchy of mariculture products one might select is outlined. This paper reports that closed-cycle OTEC may be economical, practical and capable of having a significant impact upon world energy needs. It can be implemented on a small scale using revenues derived from fresh water production and mariculture.

We experimentally demonstrated the operation of a rectenna for harvesting thermal (blackbody) radiation and converting it into dc electric power. The device integrates an ultrafast rectifier, the self-switching nanodiode, with a wideband log-periodic spiral microantenna. The radiation from the thermal source drives the rectenna out of thermal equilibrium, permitting the rectification of the excess thermal fluctuations from the antenna. The power conversion efficiency increases with the source temperatures up to 0.02% at 973 K. The low efficiency is attributed mainly to the impedance mismatch between antenna and rectifier, and partially to the large field of view of the antenna. Our device not only opens a potential solution for harvesting thermalenergy but also provides a platform for experimenting with Brownian ratchets.

A study has been completed on the application of latent-heat buffer thermalenergy storage to a point-focusing solar receiver equipped with an air Brayton engine. To aid in the study, a computer program was written for complete transient/stead-state Brayton cycle performance. The results indicated that thermal storage can afford a significant decrease in the number of engine shutdowns as compared to operating without thermal storage. However, the number of shutdowns does not continuously decrease as the storage material weight increases. In fact, there appears to be an optimum weight for minimizing the number of shutdowns.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting development of thermalenergy storage (TES) as a means of efficiently coupling energy supplies to variable heating or cooling demands. Uses of TES include electrical demand-side management in buildings and industry, extending the utilization of renewable energy resources such as solar, and recovery of waste heat from periodic industrial processes. Technical progress to develop TES for specific diurnal and industrial applications under the Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s TES program from April 1992 to March 1993 is reported and covers research in the areas of low temperature sorption, thermalenergy storage water heater, latent heat storage wallboard and latent/sensible heat regenerator technology development.

The recent use that has been given to bio-oil as an additive, in a commercial engine oil, raises the necessity to study its physical properties. The present study is aimed to obtain thermal properties of blends made with Jatropha-Curcas L. Oil, Crude, and Refined, at different concentrations using SAE40W oil (EO) as a lubricant base. By using photothermal techniques, thermal effusivity and diffusivity were obtained. The obtained results show that thermal effusivity increases from 455 Ws^{1/2}{\\cdot }m^{-2}{\\cdot }K^{-1} to 520 Ws^{1/2}{\\cdot }m^{-2}{\\cdot }K^{-1} as the percentage of additive increases as well, whereas thermal diffusivity values range from 7× 10^{-8}m2{\\cdot }s^{-1} to 10× 10^{-8}m2{\\cdot }s^{-1}. In the present study, four balls test was used in order to obtain friction coefficient and wear scar values for studied samples, the obtained results point out that in general refined Jatropha-Curcas L. oil presents smaller wear scars than the crude one.

In this study, the authors report the production of nanocomposite-enhanced phase-change materials (NEPCMs) using the direct-synthesis method by mixing paraffin with alumina (Al2O3), titania (TiO2), silica (SiO2), and zinc oxide (ZnO) as the experimental samples. Al2O3, TiO2, SiO2, and ZnO were dispersed into three concentrations of 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 wt.%. Through heat conduction and differential scanning calorimeter experiments to evaluate the effects of varying concentrations of the nano-additives on the heat conduction performance and thermal storage characteristics of NEPCMs, their feasibility for use in thermal storage was determined. The experimental results demonstrate that TiO2 is more effective than the other additives in enhancing both the heat conduction and thermal storage performance of paraffin for most of the experimental parameters. Furthermore, TiO2 reduces the melting onset temperature and increases the solidification onset temperature of paraffin. This allows the phase-change heat to be applicable to a wider temperature range, and the highest decreased ratio of phase-change heat is only 0.46%, compared to that of paraffin. Therefore, this study demonstrates that TiO2, added to paraffin to form NEPCMs, has significant potential for enhancing the thermal storage characteristics of paraffin. PMID:23127224

The pyroelectric effect offers an intriguing solid-state approach for harvesting ambient thermalenergy to power distributed networks of sensors and actuators that are remotely located or otherwise difficult to access. There have been, however, few device-level demonstrations due to challenges in converting spatial temperature gradients into temporal temperature oscillations necessary for pyroelectric energy harvesting. We demonstrate the feasibility of a device concept that uses liquid-based thermal interfaces for rapid switching of the thermal conductance between a pyroelectric material and a heat source/sink and can thereby deliver high output power density. Using a thin film of a pyroelectric co-polymer together with a macroscale mechanical actuator, we operate pyroelectric thermalenergy harvesting cycles at frequencies close to 1 Hz. Film-level power densities as high as 110 mW/cm(3) were achieved, limited by slow heat diffusion across a glass substrate. When combined with a laterally interdigitated electrode array and a MEMS actuator, the present design offers an attractive option for compact high-power density thermalenergy harvesters. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The technical and economic feasibility of large-scale aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES) was examined. A key to ATESs attractiveness is its simplicity of design and construction. The storage device consists of two ordinary water wells drilled into an aquifer, connected at the surface by piping and a heat exchanger. During the storage cycle water is pumped out of the aquifer, through the heat exchanger to absorb thermalenergy, and then back down into the aquifer through the second well. The thermal storage remains in the aquifer storage bubble until required for use, when it is recovered by reversing the storage operation. For many applications the installation can probably be designed and constructed using existing site-specific information and modern well-drilling techniques. The potential for cost-effective implementation of ATES was investigated in the Twin Cities District Heating-Cogeneration Study in Minnesota. In the study, ATES demonstrated a net energy saving of 32% over the nonstorage scenario, with an annual energy cost saving of $31 million. Discounting these savings over the life of the project, the authors found that the break-even capital cost for ATES construction was $76/kW thermal, far above the estimated ATES development cost of $23 to 50/kW thermal. It appears tht ATES can be highly cost effective as well as achieve substantial fuel savings. ATES would be environmentally beneficial and could be used in many parts of the USA. The existing body of information on ATES indicates that it is a cost-effective, fuel-conserving technique for providing thermalenergy for residential, commercial, and industrial users. The negative aspects are minor and highly site-specific, and do not seem to pose a threat to widespread commercialization. With a suitable institutional framework, ATES promises to supply a substantial portion of the nation's future energy needs. (LCL)

Synthetic fuels derived from the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process using natural gas or coal-derived synthesis gas as feedstocks can be used for powering of ground vehicles, aircraft and ships. Because of their chemical and physical properties, F-T fuels will probably require additives in order to meet specifications with respect to lubricity and seal swell capability for use in ground and air vehicles. These additives can include oxygenates and compounds containing other heteroatoms that may adversely affect thermal stability. In order to understand what additives will be the most beneficial, a comprehensive experimental and computational study of conventional and additized fuels has been undertaken. The experimental approach includes analysis of the trace oxygenate and nitrogen-containing compounds present in conventional petroleum-derived fuels and trying to relate their presence (or absence) to changes in the desired properties of the fuels. This paper describes the results of efforts to test the thermal stability of synthetic fuels and surrogate fuels containing single-component additives that have been identified in earlier research as the best potential additives for promoting seal swelling in synthetic fuels, as well as mixtures of synthetic and petroleum-derived fuels.

An analytical and experimental program is being conducted on a one-tenth scale model of a high-temperature (584 K) phase-change thermalenergy storage system for installation in a solar total energy test facility at Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. The thermal storage medium is anhydrous sodium hydroxide with 8% sodium nitrate. The program will produce data on the dynamic response of the system to repeated cycles of charging and discharging simulating those of the test facility. Data will be correlated with a mathematical model which will then be used in the design of the full-scale system.

Ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) utilizes the temperature difference between the mix lay and deep water electricity generation. The small temperature difference compared to other thermal-electric generation devises, typically between 20 and 25 C, requires the substantial volumetric flows on the order of hundreds of cubic meters per second to generate net energy and recover capital investments. This presentation described the use of a high resolution three-dimensional EFDC model with an embedded jet-plume model to simulate the thermal and environmental impacts of a number of prototype OTEC configurations on the southwest coast of Oahu, Hawaii. The EFDC model is one-way nested into a larger scale ROMS model to allow for realistic incorporation of region processes including external and internal tides and sub-tidal circulation. Impacts on local thermal structure and the potential for nutrient enrichment of the mixed layer are addressed with model and presented.

A striking contrast in the thermal conductivities of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/diatomite form-stable phase change composite (fs-PCC) with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNs) as nano-additive has been reported in our present study. Compared to the pure PEG, the thermal conductivity of the prepared fs-PCC has increased from 0.24 W/mK to 0.87 W/Mk with a small SWCNs loading of 2 wt%. SWCNs are decorated on the inner surface of diatomite pores whilst retaining its porous structure. Compared to PEG/diatomite fs-PCC, the melting and solidification time of the PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC are respectively decreased by 54.7% and 51.1%, and its thermal conductivity is 2.8 times higher. The composite can contain PEG as high as 60 wt% and maintain its original shape perfectly without any PEG leakage after subjected to 200 melt-freeze cycles. DSC results indicates that the melting point of the PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC shifts to a lower temperature while the solidification point shifts to a higher temperature due to the presence of SWCNs. Importantly, the use of SWCNs is found to have clear beneficial effects for enhancing the thermal conductivity and thermal storage/release rates, without affecting thermal properties, chemical compatibility and thermal stability. The prepared PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC exhibits excellent chemical and thermal durability and has potential application in solar thermalenergy storage and solar heating.

A striking contrast in the thermal conductivities of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/diatomite form-stable phase change composite (fs-PCC) with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNs) as nano-additive has been reported in our present study. Compared to the pure PEG, the thermal conductivity of the prepared fs-PCC has increased from 0.24 W/mK to 0.87 W/Mk with a small SWCNs loading of 2 wt%. SWCNs are decorated on the inner surface of diatomite pores whilst retaining its porous structure. Compared to PEG/diatomite fs-PCC, the melting and solidification time of the PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC are respectively decreased by 54.7% and 51.1%, and its thermal conductivity is 2.8 times higher. The composite can contain PEG as high as 60 wt% and maintain its original shape perfectly without any PEG leakage after subjected to 200 melt-freeze cycles. DSC results indicates that the melting point of the PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC shifts to a lower temperature while the solidification point shifts to a higher temperature due to the presence of SWCNs. Importantly, the use of SWCNs is found to have clear beneficial effects for enhancing the thermal conductivity and thermal storage/release rates, without affecting thermal properties, chemical compatibility and thermal stability. The prepared PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC exhibits excellent chemical and thermal durability and has potential application in solar thermalenergy storage and solar heating.

A striking contrast in the thermal conductivities of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/diatomite form-stable phase change composite (fs-PCC) with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNs) as nano-additive has been reported in our present study. Compared to the pure PEG, the thermal conductivity of the prepared fs-PCC has increased from 0.24 W/mK to 0.87 W/Mk with a small SWCNs loading of 2 wt%. SWCNs are decorated on the inner surface of diatomite pores whilst retaining its porous structure. Compared to PEG/diatomite fs-PCC, the melting and solidification time of the PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC are respectively decreased by 54.7% and 51.1%, and its thermal conductivity is 2.8 times higher. The composite can contain PEG as high as 60 wt% and maintain its original shape perfectly without any PEG leakage after subjected to 200 melt-freeze cycles. DSC results indicates that the melting point of the PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC shifts to a lower temperature while the solidification point shifts to a higher temperature due to the presence of SWCNs. Importantly, the use of SWCNs is found to have clear beneficial effects for enhancing the thermal conductivity and thermal storage/release rates, without affecting thermal properties, chemical compatibility and thermal stability. The prepared PEG/diatomite/SWCNs fs-PCC exhibits excellent chemical and thermal durability and has potential application in solar thermalenergy storage and solar heating. PMID:28300191

Synthetic fuels derived from the Fischer–Tropsch (F-T) process using natural gas or coal-derived synthesis gas as feedstocks can be used for powering ground vehicles, aircraft, and ships. Because of their chemical and physical properties, F-T fuels will probably require additives in order to meet specifications with respect to lubricity and seal swell capability for use in ground and air vehicles. Using both experimental and computational studies, the propensity of certain species to enhance the seal swell characteristics of synthetic fuels and surrogates has been determined, and promising additives have been identified. Important structural characteristics for potential additives, namely an aromatic ring along with a polar constituent, are described. The thermal stability of synthetic and surrogate fuels containing the single-component additive benzyl alcohol, which is representative of this structural class, has been determined by batch stressing of the mixtures at 350 °C for up to 12 h. Synthetic fuels spiked with benzyl alcohol at concentrations (vol %) of 1.0, 0.75, and 0.5 have demonstrated the ability to swell nitrile rubber o-rings to a comparable degree as petroleum jet fuel. Further, batch reactor studies have shown that addition of benzyl alcohol does not degrade the thermal oxidative stability of the fuel based on gravimetric analysis of the solid deposits after stressing. GC-MS was used to characterize the products from thermal stressing of neat and additized surrogate jet fuel, and their compositions were compared with respect to the creation of certain species and their potential effect on deposition.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting development of thermalenergy storage (TES) as a means of efficiently coupling energy supplies to variable heating or cooling demands. Uses of TES include electrical demand-side management in buildings and industry, extending the utilization of renewable energy resources such as solar, and recovery of waste heat from periodic industrial processes. Technical progress to develop TES for specific diurnal and industrial applications under Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s TES program from April 1990 to March 1992 is reported and covers research in the areas of low temperature sorption, direct contact ice making, latent heat storage plasterboard and latent/sensible heat regenerator technology development.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting development of thermalenergy storage (TES) as a means of efficiently coupling energy supplies to variable heating or cooling demands. Uses of TES include electrical demand-side management in buildings and industry, extending the utilization of renewable energy resources such as solar, and recovery of waste heat from periodic industrial processes. Technical progress to develop TES for specific diurnal and industrial applications under Oak Ridge National Laboratory's TES program from April 1990 to March 1992 is reported and covers research in the areas of low temperature sorption, direct contact ice making, latent heat storage plasterboard and latent/sensible heat regenerator technology development.

When a concentrated solar beam is irradiated to the ceramics such as Ni-ferrite, the high-energy flux in the range of 1500-2500 kW/m(2) is absorbed by an excess Frenkel defect formation. This non-equilibrium state defect is generated not by heating at a low heating-rate (30 K/min), but by irradiating high flux energy of concentrated solar beam rapidly at a high heating rate (200 K/min). The defect can be spontaneously converted to chemical energy of a cation-excess spinel structure (reduced-oxide form) at the temperature around 1773 K. Thus, the O(2) releasing reaction (α-O(2) releasing reaction) proceeds in two-steps; (1) high flux energy of concentrated solar beam absorption by formation of the non-equilibrium Frenkel defect and (2) the O(2) gas formation from the O(2-) in the Frenkel defect even in air atmosphere. The 2nd step proceeds without the solar radiation. We may say that the 1st step is light reaction, and 2nd step, dark reaction, just like in photosynthesis process.

The Office of the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environmental Technology has established the OTEC Program Management Office to be responsible for the ANL-assigned tasks of the OTEC Program under DOE's Chicago Operations and Regional Office (DOE/CORO). The ANL OTEC Program Management Plan is essentially a management-by-objective plan. The principal objective of the program is to provide lead technical support to CORO in its capacity as manager of the DOE power-system program. The Argonne OTEC Program is divided into three components: the first deals with development of heat exchangers and other components of OTEC power systems, the second with development of biofouling counter-measures and corrosion-resistant materials for these components in seawater service, and the third with environmental and climatic impacts of OTEC power-system operation. The essential points of the Management Plan are summarized, and the OTEC Program is described. The organization of the OTEC Program at ANL is described including the functions, responsibilities, and authorities of the organizational groupings. The system and policies necessary for the support and control functions within the organization are discussed. These functions cross organizational lines, in that they are common to all of the organization groups. Also included are requirements for internal and external reports.

The vaporization mechanisms of water-insoluble Cs in raw ash and Cs-doped ash during thermal treatment with CaCl2 addition was systematically examined in a lab-scale electrical heating furnace over a temperature range of 500-1500 °C. The results indicate that the water-insoluble Cs in the ash was associated with aluminosilicate as pollucite. Addition of 10% CaCl2 caused the maximum vaporization ratio of Cs in the raw ash to reach approximately 80% at temperatures higher than 1200 °C, whereas approximately 95% of Cs was vaporized at temperatures higher than 1300 °C when 30% CaCl2 was added. The formation of an intermediate compound, CsCaCl3, through the chemical reaction of Cs with CaCl2 was responsible for Cs vaporization by means of the subsequent decomposition of this intermediate upon the increase in temperature. The indirect chlorination of Cs by the gaseous chlorine released from the decomposition of CaCl2 was insignificant. A high CaCl2 content in the resulting annealed products with 30% CaCl2 addition delayed the decomposition of CsCaCl3 and thus lowered the Cs vaporization ratio compared to that with 10% CaCl2 addition at 900-1250 °C. Thermal treatment with CaCl2 addition is a proposed method to remove Cs from Cs-contaminated incineration ash.

Thermomechanical cycles with a ferroelectric working substance convert heat to electrical energy. As shown here, magnetoelectrically coupled ferroelectric/ferromagnetic composites (also called multiferroics) allow for an efficient thermalenergy harvesting at room temperature by exploiting the pyroelectric effect. By virtue of the magnetoelectric coupling, external electric and magnetic fields can steer the operation of these heat engines. Our theoretical predictions are based on a combination of Landau-Khalatnikov-Tani approach (with a Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire potential) to simulate the ferroelectric dynamics coupled to the magnetic dynamics. The latter is treated via the electric-polarization-dependent Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. By performing an adapted Olsen cycle we show that a multiferroic working substance is potentially much more superior to the sole ferroelectrics, as far as the thermalenergy harvesting using pyroelectric effect is concerned. Our proposal holds promise not only for low-energy consuming devices but also for cooling technology.

The low-energy spectral slopes of the prompt emission of most gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are difficult to reconcile with radiatively efficient optically thin emission models irrespective of the radiation mechanism. An alternative is to ascribe the radiation around the spectral peak to a thermalization process occurring well inside the Thomson photosphere. This quasi-thermal spectrum can evolve into the observed non-thermal shape by additionalenergy release at moderate to small Thomson optical depths, which can readily give rise to the hard spectral tail. The position of the spectral peak is determined by the temperature and Lorentz factor of the flow in the thermalization zone, where the total number of photons carried by the jet is established. To reach thermalization, dissipation alone is not sufficient and photon generation requires an efficient emission/absorption process in addition to scattering. We perform a systematic study of all relevant photon production mechanisms searching for possible conditions in which thermalization can take place. We find that a significant fraction of the available energy should be dissipated at intermediate radii, {approx}10{sup 10} to a few Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 11} cm, and the flow there should be relatively slow: the bulk Lorentz factor could not exceed a few tens for all but the most luminous bursts with the highest E {sub pk} values. The least restrictive constraint for successful thermalization, {Gamma} {approx}< 20, is obtained if synchrotron emission acts as the photon source. This requires, however, a non-thermal acceleration deep below the Thomson photosphere transferring a significant fraction of the flow energy to relativistic electrons with Lorentz factors between 10 and 100. Other processes require bulk flow Lorentz factors of order of a few for typical bursts. We examine the implications of these results to different GRB photospheric emission models.

A table of the analytical sensitivities of the principal lines in the thermal-neutron-capture gamma ray spectrum has been compiled for most of the elements. In addition a second table of the full-energy, single-escape, and double-escape peaks has been compiled according to energy for all significant lines above 3 MeV. Lines that contrast well with adjacent lines are noted as prominent. The tables are useful for spectral interpretation and calibration. ?? 1970.

The study of Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) in Japan has been conducted under the leadership of a team of the ''Sunshine Project'', a national new energy development project promoted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industries (MITI) since 1974. At present, two experimental OTEC power plants -Nauru's OTEC plant and Imari's OTEC plant are operating. In this paper, the review of research and development activity of these two OTEC plants in Japan is made.

Solar thermal propulsion (STP) offers an unique combination of thrust and efficiency, providing greater total DeltaV capability than chemical propulsion systems without the order of magnitude increase in total mission duration associated with electric propulsion. Despite an over 50 year development history, no STP spacecraft has flown to-date as both perceived and actual complexity have overshadowed the potential performance benefit in relation to conventional technologies. The trend in solar thermal research over the past two decades has been towards simplification and miniaturization to overcome this complexity barrier in an effort finally mount an in-flight test. A review of micro-propulsion technologies recently conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has identified solar thermal propulsion as a promising configuration for microsatellite missions requiring a substantial Delta V and recommended further study. A STP system provides performance which cannot be matched by conventional propulsion technologies in the context of the proposed microsatellite ''inspector" requiring rapid delivery of greater than 1500 m/s DeltaV. With this mission profile as the target, the development of an effective STP architecture goes beyond incremental improvements and enables a new class of microsatellite missions. Here, it is proposed that a bi-modal solar thermal propulsion system on a microsatellite platform can provide a greater than 50% increase in Delta V vs. chemical systems while maintaining delivery times measured in days. The realization of a microsatellite scale bi-modal STP system requires the integration of multiple new technologies, and with the exception of high performance thermalenergy storage, the long history of STP development has provided "ready" solutions. For the target bi-modal STP microsatellite, sensible heat thermalenergy storage is insufficient and the development of high temperature latent heat thermalenergy storage is an enabling

A visually transmitting solar energy absorbing thermal storage module includes a thermal storage liquid containment chamber defined by an interior solar absorber panel, an exterior transparent panel having a heat mirror surface substantially covering the exterior surface thereof and associated top, bottom and side walls, Evaporation of the thermal storage liquid is controlled by a low vapor pressure liquid layer that floats on and seals the top surface of the liquid. Porous filter plugs are placed in filler holes of the module. An algicide and a chelating compound are added to the liquid to control biological and chemical activity while retaining visual clarity. A plurality of modules may be supported in stacked relation by a support frame to form a thermal storage wall structure.

A visually transmitting solar energy absorbing thermal storage module includes a thermal storage liquid containment chamber defined by an interior solar absorber panel, an exterior transparent panel having a heat mirror surface substantially covering the exterior surface thereof and associated top, bottom and side walls. Evaporation of the thermal storage liquid is controlled by a low vapor pressure liquid layer that floats on and seals the top surface of the liquid. Porous filter plugs are placed in filler holes of the module. An algicide and a chelating compound are added to the liquid to control biological and chemical activity while retaining visual clarity. A plurality of modules may be supported in stacked relation by a support frame to form a thermal storage wall structure.

A scheme for providing nighttime electric power to a lunar base is described. This scheme stores thermalenergy in a pile of regolith. Any such scheme must somehow improve on the poor thermal conductivity of lunar regolith in vacuum. Two previous schemes accomplish this by casting or melting the regolith. The scheme described here wraps the regolith in a gas-tight bag and introduces a light gas to enhance thermal conductivity. This allows the system to be assembled with less energy and equipment than schemes which require melting of regolith. A point design based on the new scheme is presented. Its mass from Earth compares favorably with the mass of a regenerative fuel cell of equal capacity.

Energy Research and Development Administration, Washington, DC. Div. of Solar Energy.

This report presents the environmental problems which may arise with the further development of Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion, one of the eight Federally-funded solar technologies. To provide a background for this environmental analysis, the history and basic concepts of the technology are reviewed, as are its economic and resource requirements.…

The cited reports of federally-funded research concern thermalenergy storage. The citations cover the design of equipment, performance evaluation, theory, materials used, and experimental design. This updated bibliography contains 240 citations, 128 of which are new entries to the previous edition.

This publication is the second volume of the Proceedings of CALORSTOCK'94, the Sixth International Conference on ThermalEnergy Storage held in Espoo, Finland on 22-25 Aug. 1994. This volume contains 51 presentations from the following six sessions: Chemical storage; Heat storage and environment; Central solar heating plants with seasonal storage; Water storage pits and tanks; Cooling; and National activities.

The significant nearer term opportunities for the application of solar thermalenergy to the manufacture of fuels and chemicals from biomass are summarized, with some comments on resource availability, market potential and economics. Consideration is given to the production of furfural from agricultural residues, and the role of furfural and its derivatives as a replacement for petrochemicals in the plastics industry.

Documentation is provided of a briefing summarizing the results of an independent quantitative evaluation of Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) for central station applications. The study concentrated on a central station power plant located in the Gulf of Mexico and delivering power to the mainland United States. The evaluation of OTEC is based on three important issues: resource availability, technical feasibility, and cost.

The significant nearer term opportunities for the application of solar thermalenergy to the manufacture of fuels and chemicals from biomass are summarized, with some comments on resource availability, market potential and economics. Consideration is given to the production of furfural from agricultural residues, and the role of furfural and its derivatives as a replacement for petrochemicals in the plastics industry.

The design, development, and progress toward the delivery of three subsystems is discussed. The subsystem used a salt hydrate mixture for thermalenergy storage. The program schedules, technical data, and other program activities from October 1, 1976, through December 31, 1977 are presented.

This paper presents the first experimental evidence of pronounced electrification effects upon reversible cycle of forced water intrusion-extrusion in nanoporous hydrophobic materials. Recorded generation of electricity combined with high-pressure calorimetric measurements improves the energy balance of {nanoporous solid + nonwetting liquid} systems by compensating mechanical and thermalenergy hysteresis in the cycle. Revealed phenomena provide a novel way of "mechanical to electrical" and/or "thermal to electrical" energy transformation with unprecedented efficiency and additionally open a perspective to increase the efficiency of numerous energy applications based on such systems taking advantage of electricity generation during operational cycle.

A readily available and inexpensive boron compound was tested as an additive for the detection of thermal neutrons in plastic scintillators. Bis(pinacolato)diboron (B2Pin2) was determined to be a compatible boron source (8.51 wt% boron, 1.70 wt% 10B) in poly(vinyltoluene) based matrices. Plastic scintillator blends of 1-20 wt% 2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO), 0.1 wt% 1,4-bis(5-phenyloxazol-2-yl) benzene (POPOP) and 1-15 wt% B2Pin2 were prepared that provided optical clarity, good mechanical properties, and the capability of thermal neutron detection. Independent of B2Pin2 concentration, strong 10B neutron capture signals around 90 keVee were observed at essentially constant light output. Increasing PPO concentration allowed for the use of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) in both fast and thermal neutron detection. High PPO concentrations appear to cause additional alpha quenching that affected the 10B neutron capture signal. Aging effects after storage in air for several months were observed, which led to degradation of performance and in some samples of mechanical stability.

Traditional passive solar systems have relied on sensible heat storage for energy savings. Recent research has investigated taking advantage of latent heat storage for additionalenergy savings. This is accomplished by the incorporation of phase change material into building materials used in traditional passive applications. Trombe walls, ceilings and floors can all be enhanced with phase change materials. This research introduces a new flooring material that incorporates a phase change material ready for commercial manufacture. An agglomerate floor tile containing 20% by mass of encapsulated octadecane has been manufactured. Flexural and compressive strength of 7.4 MPa and 24.5 MPa respectively, were measured for the tile. Peak melting transition temperature was determined to be 27.2°C with a latent heat of 33.9 J/g of tile. Structural and thermal performance of the tile surpassed that of a typical ceramic tile. Each tile was composed of quartz, resin and phase change material. Statistical modeling was performed to analyze the response of flexural and compressive strength on varying amounts of quartz, resin and phase change material. Resulting polynomials described the effect of adding phase change material into the tile. With as little as 10% by mass of phase change material, the strength was reduced to less than 50% of tile without phase change material. It was determined that the maximum phase change material content to attain structural integrity greater than ceramic tile was 20% by mass. The statistical analysis used for this research was based on mixture experiments. A procedure was developed to simplify the selection of data points used in the fit of the polynomials to describe the response of flexural and compressive strengths. Analysis of energy savings using this floor tile containing 20% by mass of phase change material was performed as an addendum to this research. A known static simulation method, SLR (solar load ratio), was adapted to include

A thermally regenerative ammonia battery (TRAB) is a new approach for converting low-grade thermalenergy into electricity by using an ammonia electrolyte and copper electrodes. TRAB operation at 72 °C produced a power density of 236 ± 8 Wm(-2), with a linear decrease in power to 95 ± 5 Wm(-2) at 23 °C. The improved power at higher temperatures was due to reduced electrode overpotentials and more favorable thermodynamics for the anode reaction (copper oxidation). The energy density varied with temperature and discharge rates, with a maximum of 650 Wh m(-3) at a discharge energy efficiency of 54% and a temperature of 37 °C. The energy efficiency calculated with chemical process simulation software indicated a Carnot-based efficiency of up to 13% and an overall thermalenergy recovery of 0.5%. It should be possible to substantially improve these energy recoveries through optimization of electrolyte concentrations and by using improved ion-selective membranes and energy recovery systems such as heat exchangers.

The thermal shock reliability and tensile properties of a newly developed quaternary Sn-1.2Ag-0.5Cu-0.4In (wt%) solder alloy were investigated and compared to those of ternary Sn-Ag-Cu based Pb-free solder alloys. It was revealed that the Sn-1.2Ag-0.5Cu-0.4In solder alloy shows better thermal shock reliability compared to the Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys. The quaternary alloy has higher strength than Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu alloy, and higher elongation than Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu alloy. It was also revealed that the addition of indium promotes the formation of Ag3(Sn, In) phase in the solder joint during reflow process.

Thermalenergy storage (TES) is capable to reduce the demand of conventional energy sources for two reasons: First, they prevent the mismatch between the energy supply and the power demand when generating electricity from renewable energy sources. Second, utilization of waste heat in industrial processes by thermalenergy storage reduces the final energy consumption. This review focuses mainly on material aspects of alkali nitrate salts. They include thermal properties, thermal decomposition processes as well as a new method to develop optimized salt systems.

We report the first flexible hybrid energy cell that is capable of simultaneously or individually harvesting thermal, mechanical, and solar energies to power some electronic devices. For having both the pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties, a polarized poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) film-based nanogenerator (NG) was used to harvest thermal and mechanical energies. Using aligned ZnO nanowire arrays grown on the flexible polyester (PET) substrate, a ZnO-poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) heterojunction solar cell was designed for harvesting solar energy. By integrating the NGs and the solar cells, a hybrid energy cell was fabricated to simultaneously harvest three different types of energies. With the use of a Li-ion battery as the energy storage, the harvested energy can drive four red light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

The results of comparative screening studies of candidate molten carbonate salts as phase change materials (PCM) for advanced solar thermalenergy storage applications at 540 to 870 C (1004 to 1600 F) and steam Rankine electric generation at 400 to 540 C (752 to 1004 F) are presented. Alkali carbonates are attractive as latent heat storage materials because of their relatively high storage capacity and thermal conductivity, low corrosivity, moderate cost, and safe and simple handling requirements. Salts were tested in 0.1 kWhr lab scale modules and evaluated on the basis of discharge heat flux, solidification temperature range, thermal cycling stability, and compatibility with containment materials. The feasibility of using a distributed network of high conductivity material to increase the heat flux through the layer of solidified salt was evaluated. The thermal performance of an 8 kWhr thermalenergy storage (TES) module containing LiKCO3 remained very stable throughout 5650 hours and 130 charge/discharge cycles at 480 to 535 C (896 to 995 F). A TES utilization concept of an electrical generation peaking subsystem composed of a multistage condensing steam turbine and a TES subsystem with a separate power conversion loop was defined. Conceptual designs for a 100 MW sub e TES peaking system providing steam at 316 C, 427 C, and 454 C (600 F, 800 F, and 850 F) at 3.79 million Pa (550 psia) were developed and evaluated. Areas requiring further investigation have also been identified.

Maxwell’s demon is a hypothetical creature that can convert information to free energy. A debate that has lasted for more than 100 years has revealed that the demon’s operation does not contradict the laws of thermodynamics; hence, the demon can be realized physically. We briefly review the first experimental demonstration of Maxwell’s demon of Szilard’s engine type that converts information to free energy. We pump heat from an isothermal environment by using the information about the thermal fluctuations of a Brownian particle and increase the particle’s free energy. PMID:27493548

In this work experimental investigations on a thermalenergy storage system with a solid material as storage media and air as heat transfer fluid will be presented. The experimental test rig, installed at the DIMCM of the University of Cagliari, consists of a carbon steel tank filled with freely poured alumina beads that allows investigations of heat transfer phenomena in packed beds. The aim of this work is to show the influence of the operating conditions and physical parameters on thermocline formation and, in particular, the thermal behaviour of the thermalenergy storage for repeated charging and discharging cycles. Better charging efficiency is obtained for lower values of mass flow rate and maximum air temperature and for increasing aspect ratio. A decreasing influence of the metal wall with continuous operation is also highlighted. In conclusion, the analysis focuses on the thermal hysteresis phenomenon, which causes degradation of the thermocline and the reduction of the energy that can be stored by the accumulator as the repeated number of cycles increases.

8217thIJt4IiTY CLASSIFICATION OF TWI4S PAG(E ona Dola t ern.r) 20. (continued) c-a• of factors having significance in OTEC (Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion...heat exchangers. Certain of these groups are then evaluated for a model and prototype OTEC -Type heat exchanger using the same working fluid and ex...Development Administration, and the U. S. Navy are brought out. Chapter II investigates the scaling problems of heat ex- changers in OTEC (Ocean Thermal

The relative value of thermalenergy storage (TES) for heat pump storage (heating and cooling) as a function of storage temperature, mode of storage (hotside or coldside), geographic locations, and utility time of use rate structures were derived. Computer models used to simulate the performance of a number of TES/heat pump configurations are described. The models are based on existing performance data of heat pump components, available building thermal load computational procedures, and generalized TES subsystem design. Life cycle costs computed for each site, configuration, and rate structure are discussed.

This work introduces a new concept for a utility scale combined energy storage and generation system. The proposed design utilizes a pumped thermalenergy storage (PTES) system, which also utilizes waste heat leaving a natural gas peaker plant. This system creates a low cost utility-scale energy storage system by leveraging this dual-functionality. This dissertation first presents a review of previous work in PTES as well as the details of the proposed integrated bottoming and energy storage system. A time-domain system model was developed in Mathworks R2016a Simscape and Simulink software to analyze this system. Validation of both the fluid state model and the thermalenergy storage model are provided. The experimental results showed the average error in cumulative fluid energy between simulation and measurement was +/- 0.3% per hour. Comparison to a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model showed <1% error for bottoming mode heat transfer. The system model was used to conduct sensitivity analysis, baseline performance, and levelized cost of energy of a recently proposed Pumped ThermalEnergy Storage and Bottoming System (Bot-PTES) that uses ammonia as the working fluid. This analysis focused on the effects of hot thermal storage utilization, system pressure, and evaporator/condenser size on the system performance. This work presents the estimated performance for a proposed baseline Bot-PTES. Results of this analysis showed that all selected parameters had significant effects on efficiency, with the evaporator/condenser size having the largest effect over the selected ranges. Results for the baseline case showed stand-alone energy storage efficiencies between 51 and 66% for varying power levels and charge states, and a stand-alone bottoming efficiency of 24%. The resulting efficiencies for this case were low compared to competing technologies; however, the dual-functionality of the Bot-PTES enables it to have higher capacity factor, leading to 91-197/MWh levelized cost

The present invention comprises a field enhanced electrode package for use in a non-thermal plasma processor. The field enhanced electrode package includes a high voltage electrode and a field-enhancing electrode with a dielectric material layer disposed in-between the high voltage electrode and the field-enhancing electrode. The field-enhancing electrode features at least one raised section that includes at least one injection hole that allows plasma discharge streamers to occur primarily within an injected additive gas.

The canning segment of the food processing industry is a major energy user within that industry. Most of its energy demand is met by hot water and steam and those fluids, in addition to product cooling water, eventually flow from the processes as warm waste water. To minimize the possibility of product contamination, a large percentage of that waste water is sent directly to factory drains and sewer systems without being recycled and in many cases the thermalenergy contained by the waste streams also goes unreclaimed and is lost from further use. Waste heat recovery in canning facilities can be performed economically using systems that employ thermalenergy storage (TES). A project was proposed in which a demonstration waste heat recovery system, including a TES feature, would be designed, installed and operated.

In high-pulse-energy Ti:sapphire amplifiers with moderate repetition rate, the thermal lens effect can significantly decrease the energy extraction efficiency and increase the risk of optical damage. A new method, without introducing any additional components, is proposed to suppress the thermal lens effect in such amplifiers. By utilizing a particularly designed beam expander before the amplifier, specific expanding ratio and beam divergence can be introduced to the injected seed pulses, which can improve the spatial matching between the seed pulses and the pump pulses, and thus enhance the energy extraction efficiency. The enhancement of the energy extraction efficiency has reached approximately 10% in our experimental four-pass Ti:sapphire amplifier, and the good agreement between theoretical and experimental results also demonstrates the validity and feasibility of this method.

HEATS Project: Halotechnics is developing a high-temperature thermalenergy storage system using a new thermal-storage and heat-transfer material: earth-abundant and low-melting-point molten glass. Heat storage materials are critical to the energy storage process. In solar thermal storage systems, heat can be stored in these materials during the day and released at night—when the sun is not out—to drive a turbine and produce electricity. In nuclear storage systems, heat can be stored in these materials at night and released to produce electricity during daytime peak-demand hours. Halotechnics new thermal storage material targets a price that is potentially cheaper than the molten salt used in most commercial solar thermal storage systems today. It is also extremely stable at temperatures up to 1200°C—hundreds of degrees hotter than the highest temperature molten salt can handle. Being able to function at high temperatures will significantly increase the efficiency of turning heat into electricity. Halotechnics is developing a scalable system to pump, heat, store, and discharge the molten glass. The company is leveraging technology used in the modern glass industry, which has decades of experience handling molten glass.

Harvesting electrical energy from thermalenergy sources using pyroelectric conversion techniques has been under investigation for over 50 years, but it has not received the attention that thermoelectric energy harvesting techniques have during this time period. This lack of interest stems from early studies which found that the energy conversion efficiencies achievable using pyroelectric materials were several times less than those potentially achievable with thermoelectrics. More recent modeling and experimental studies have shown that pyroelectric techniques can be cost competitive with thermoelectrics and, using new temperature cycling techniques, has the potential to be several times as efficient as thermoelectrics under comparable operating conditions. This paper will review the recent history in this field and describe the techniques that are being developed to increase the opportunities for pyroelectric energy harvesting. The development of a new thermalenergy harvester concept, based on temperature cycled pyroelectric thermal-to-electrical energy conversion, are also outlined. The approach uses a resonantly driven, pyroelectric capacitive bimorph cantilever structure that can be used to rapidly cycle the temperature in the energy harvester. The device has been modeled using a finite element multi-physics based method, where the effect of the structure material properties and system parameters on the frequency and magnitude of temperature cycling, and the efficiency of energy recycling using the proposed structure, have been modeled. Results show that thermal contact conductance and heat source temperature differences play key roles in dominating the cantilever resonant frequency and efficiency of the energy conversion technique. This paper outlines the modeling, fabrication and testing of cantilever and pyroelectric structures and single element devices that demonstrate the potential of this technology for the development of high efficiency thermal

Pacific Northwest Laboratory, sponsored by the US Department of Energy through Sandia National Laboratories, is performing an assessment of three solar thermal electricity generating concepts; central receivers, dishes, and troughs. Concepts are being studied over a range of system sizes 0.5 MWe to 100 MWe with solar multiples from 1.0 to 2.8. Central receiver systems using molten salt, sodium, and water-steam working fluids are studied. The dish system selected for study uses a kinematic Stirling engine at the focal point, and the trough system is based on Accurex designed collectors heating a heat transfer oil. Of the three concepts studied, the central receiver and trough systems utilize thermal transport systems. A thermal transport system is the piping and fluid required to transfer thermalenergy between receiver, and storage and between storage and steam generator. The literature contains many transport system designs, most of which are optimized with regard to cost and performance. We used the parameters specified from the optimizations to design our systems and scale the designs over the 0.5 MWe to 100 MWe size range. From these designs, thermal losses and pump sizes are derived then combined in a system model to obtain total annual averaged efficiency as a function of plant field size. We found that central receiver transport efficiency improves with field size whereas trough transport efficiency degrades with field size. We found that overnight cooldown accounts for roughly 50% of the total thermal losses for all transport systems. Trough performance is substantially degraded because the receiver tubes are not drained which allows a large overnight heat loss. Trough transport performance was found to be sensitive to fluid velocity.

HEATS Project: Sheetak is developing a new HVAC system to store the energy required for heating and cooling in EVs. This system will replace the traditional refrigerant-based vapor compressors and inefficient heaters used in today’s EVs with efficient, light, and rechargeable hot-and-cold thermal batteries. The high energy density thermal battery—which does not use any hazardous substances—can be recharged by an integrated solid-state thermoelectric energy converter while the vehicle is parked and its electrical battery is being charged. Sheetak’s converters can also run on the electric battery if needed and provide the required cooling and heating to the passengers—eliminating the space constraint and reducing the weight of EVs that use more traditional compressors and heaters.

The technical and economic potential for high temperature (343 C, 650 F) thermalenergy storage in hollow steel ingots, pipes embedded in concrete, and for pipes buried in sand was evaluated. Because it was determined that concrete would separate from pipes due to thermal stresses, concrete was replaced by sand, which is free from thermal stresses. Variations of the steel ingot concept were not cost effective compared to the sand-pipe approach, therefore, the sand-pipe thermal storage unit (TSU) was evaluated in depth to assess the approximate tube spacing requirements consistent with different system performance characteristics and also attendant system costs. For large TSUs which do not require fast response times, the sand-pipe approach offers attractive possibilities. A pipe diameter about 9 cm (3.5 in) and pipe spacing of approximately 25 cm (10 in), with sand filling the interspaces, appears appropriate. Such a TSU system designed for 8 hours charge/discharge cycle has an energy unit storage cost (CE) of $2.63/kWhr-t and a power unit storage cost (Cp) of $42/kW-t (in 1977 dollars).

The coefficient of restitution is a measure of energy dissipation in a system across impact events. Often, the dissipative qualities of a pair of impacting components are neglected during the design phase. This research looks at the effect of applying a thin layer of metallic coating, using thermal spray technologies, to significantly alter the dissipative properties of a system. We studied the dissipative properties across multiple impacts in order to assess the effects of work hardening, the change in microstructure, and the change in surface topography. The results of the experiments indicate that any work hardening-like effects are likely attributable to the crushing of asperities, and the permanent changes in the dissipative properties of the system, as measured by the coefficient of restitution, are attributable to the microstructure formed by the thermal spray coating. Furthermore, the microstructure appears to be robust across impact events of moderate energy levels, exhibiting negligible changes across multiple impact events.

A thermal model which simulates combined conduction and phase change characteristics of thermalenergy storage (TES) materials is presented. Both the model and results are presented for the purpose of benchmarking the conduction and phase change capabilities of recently developed and unvalidated microgravity TES computer programs. Specifically, operation of TES-1 is simulated. A two-dimensional SINDA85 model of the TES experiment in cylindrical coordinates was constructed. The phase change model accounts for latent heat stored in, or released from, a node undergoing melting and freezing.

Low-dimensional materials, like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene, possess extraordinary properties---higher thermal conductivity than any bulk material, mechanical strength 10-100 times greater than steel on a mass basis, and electrical current capacity 1000 times greater than copper. While composites incorporating these low-dimensional materials promise solutions to global sustainability challenges, significant transport barriers exist at the matrix interface that influence the composite properties. My PhD research sought to address this knowledge gap. I've experimentally explored how CNTs and graphene impact thermal conductivity when added in small volume fractions to gases, liquids and solids through the study of CNT aerogels (ultra lightweight, 8 kg/m3, 99.6% void space), and phase change nanocomposites (hexadecane-graphene). I measured the thermal conductivity of the CNT aerogel with various filling gases versus pressure using a novel technique that targeted ultralow thermal conductivity materials, called metal-coated 3o. I observed amplified energy transport length scales resulting from low gas accommodation, which is a general feature of carbon based nanoporous materials. Our evidence also shows that despite the high thermal conductivity of CNTs, thermal conduction through the CNT network is limited by the high thermal boundary resistance at van der Waals bonded CNT junctions. In the second system, I studied thermal and electrical conductivity of hexadecane- multi-layered-graphene (MLG) phase change nanocomposites to understand how morphology of the MLG network impacts transport. By adjusting the freezing rate, the electrical conductivity in the solid phase can be tuned between 1 and 5 orders-of-magnitude and the solid-liquid thermal conductivity ratio can be varied between 2.6 to 3.0. This research has yielded interesting insights into the tunability of nanocomposites and the physics underlying it, including evidence to indicate that the presence of

Point-focusing concentrators under consideration for solar thermalenergy use are reviewed. These concentrators differ in such characteristics as optical configuration, optical materials, structure for support of the optical elements and of the receiver, mount, foundation, drive, controls and enclosure. Concentrator performance and cost are considered. Technology development is outlined, including wind loads and aerodynamics; precipitation, sand, and seismic considerations; and maintenance and cleaning.

The potential is examined for waste heat recovery and reuse through thermalenergy storage in five specific industrial categories: (1) primary aluminum, (2) cement, (3) food processing, (4) paper and pulp, and (5) iron and steel. Preliminary results from Phase 1 feasibility studies suggest energy savings through fossil fuel displacement approaching 0.1 quad/yr in the 1985 period. Early implementation of recovery technologies with minimal development appears likely in the food processing and paper and pulp industries; development of the other three categories, though equally desirable, will probably require a greater investment in time and dollars.

The Space Station Freedom electric power system (EPS) will initially rely on photovoltaics for power generation and Ni/H2 batteries for electrical energy storage. The current design for and the development status of two major subsystems in the PV Power Module is discussed. The energy storage subsystem comprised of high capacity Ni/H2 batteries and the single-phase thermal control system that rejects the excess heat generated by the batteries and other components associated with power generation and storage is described.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is working with partners from the gas heating and cooling industry to improve energy efficiency using advance absorption technologies, to eliminate chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), to reduce global warming through more efficient combustion of natural gas, and to impact electric peak demand of air conditioning. To assist industry in developing these gas heating and cooling absorption technologies, the US DOE sponsors the Thermally Activated Heat Pump Program. It is divided into five key activities, addressing residential gas absorption heat pumps, large commercial chillers, advanced absorption fluids, computer-aided design, and advanced ``Hi-Cool`` heat pumps.

This invention concerns the storage and conveyance of thermalenergy at low temperature, by using the latent heat produced by a substance during changes of state. This substance consists of a salt producing considerable latent heat during change of state, such as NA/sub 2/SO/sub 4/, 10 H/sub 2/O, combined closely with a nucleating agent such as borax and dispersed in an oil to which an emulsifying agent has been added. This product is particularly suitable for storage of solar energy at low temperature and for heating of enclosed areas.

This report has been prepared by Pacific Northwest Laboratory at the request of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The US Department of Energy represents the United States in the IEA for Annex IV, the IEA task for research and development in aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES). Installation and operation of an ATES system is necessarily intrusive to ground-water resources. Therefore, governmental authorities usually require an environmental risk assessment to be performed before permission to construct an ATES system is granted. Writing an accurate statement of risk presupposes a knowledge of aquifer and ground-water characteristics and that an engineering feasibility study has taken place. Effective and logical presentation of the results of the risk assessment can expedite the grant of approval. Introductory remarks should address questions regarding why the ATES project has been proposed, what it is expected to accomplish, and what the expected benefits are. Next, the system configuration, including the aquifer, ATES plant, and well field, should be described in terms of size and location, design components, and thermal and hydraulic capacity. The final element of system design, the predicted annual operating cycle, needs to be described in sufficient detail to allow the reviewer to appreciate the net hydraulic, thermal, and hydrochemical effects imposed on the aquifer. Risks may be environmental or legal. Only after a reviewer has been introduced to the proposed system`s design, operation, and scale can risk issues can be identified and weighed against the benefits of the proposed ATES system.

This report has been prepared by Pacific Northwest Laboratory at the request of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The US Department of Energy represents the United States in the IEA for Annex IV, the IEA task for research and development in aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES). Installation and operation of an ATES system is necessarily intrusive to ground-water resources. Therefore, governmental authorities usually require an environmental risk assessment to be performed before permission to construct an ATES system is granted. Writing an accurate statement of risk presupposes a knowledge of aquifer and ground-water characteristics and that an engineering feasibility study has taken place. Effective and logical presentation of the results of the risk assessment can expedite the grant of approval. Introductory remarks should address questions regarding why the ATES project has been proposed, what it is expected to accomplish, and what the expected benefits are. Next, the system configuration, including the aquifer, ATES plant, and well field, should be described in terms of size and location, design components, and thermal and hydraulic capacity. The final element of system design, the predicted annual operating cycle, needs to be described in sufficient detail to allow the reviewer to appreciate the net hydraulic, thermal, and hydrochemical effects imposed on the aquifer. Risks may be environmental or legal. Only after a reviewer has been introduced to the proposed system's design, operation, and scale can risk issues can be identified and weighed against the benefits of the proposed ATES system.

This work gives experimental evidence of a promising method of thermal-to-electric energy conversion by coupling shape memory effect (SME) and direct piezoelectric effect (DPE) for harvesting quasi-static ambient temperature variations. Two original prototypes of thermalenergy harvesters have been fabricated and tested experimentally. The first is a hybrid laminated composite consisting of TiNiCu shape memory alloy (SMA) and macro fiber composite piezoelectric. This composite comprises 0.1 cm3 of active materials and harvests 75 µJ of energy for each temperature variation of 60 °C. The second prototype is a SME/DPE ‘machine’ which uses the thermally induced linear strains of the SMA to bend a bulk PZT ceramic plate through a specially designed mechanical structure. The SME/DPE ‘machine’ with 0.2 cm3 of active material harvests 90 µJ over a temperature increase of 35 °C (60 µJ when cooling). In contrast to pyroelectric materials, such harvesters are also compatible with both small and slow temperature variations.

By performing two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate the transfer between electron bulk kinetic and electron thermalenergy in collisionless magnetic reconnection. In the vicinity of the X line, the electron bulk kinetic energy density is much larger than the electron thermalenergy density. The evolution of the electron bulk kinetic energy is mainly determined by the work done by the electric field force and electron pressure gradient force. The work done by the electron gradient pressure force in the vicinity of the X line is changed to the electron enthalpy flux. In the magnetic island, the electron enthalpy flux is transferred to the electron thermalenergy due to the compressibility of the plasma in the magnetic island. The compression of the plasma in the magnetic island is the consequence of the electromagnetic force acting on the plasma as the magnetic field lines release their tension after being reconnected. Therefore, we can observe that in the magnetic island the electron thermalenergy density is much larger than the electron bulk kinetic energy density.

Engineering procedures necessary for aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES), based on studies of the Magothy Aquifer on Long Island, NY, are presented, with chilled winter water pumped into the aquifer and reclaimed in summer months for air conditioning. The choice of aquifer involves necessary volume, flow rate, efficiency of thermal recovery, and avoidance of conflict with other users; utilization depends on choice of appropriate piping, heat exchangers, and well construction to prevent degradation of the aquifer. The methods employed to probe the Magothy for suitability are described, including drilling an asymmetric well cluster for observation, and 48 hr pumping and 8 hr recovery. Transmissivity was found to vary from 8,000 to 29,000 sq ft/day. A doublet well was then drilled and water withdrawn, chilled, and returned. Later withdrawal indicated a 46% thermal recovery, with computer models projecting 80% with additional cycling. The study verified the feasibility of ATES, which can be expanded with additional demand.

This project proposes to seek out the SOA power electronics and motor technologies to thermally benchmark their performance. The benchmarking will focus on the thermal aspects of the system. System metrics including the junction-to-coolant thermal resistance and the parasitic power consumption (i.e., coolant flow rates and pressure drop performance) of the heat exchanger will be measured. The type of heat exchanger (i.e., channel flow, brazed, folded-fin) and any enhancement features (i.e., enhanced surfaces) will be identified and evaluated to understand their effect on performance. Additionally, the thermal resistance/conductivity of the power module’s passive stack and motor’s laminations and copper winding bundles will also be measured. The research conducted will allow insight into the various cooling strategies to understand which heat exchangers are most effective in terms of thermal performance and efficiency. Modeling analysis and fluid-flow visualization may also be carried out to better understand the heat transfer and fluid dynamics of the systems.

In this paper, the energy flow analysis (EFA) method is developed to predict the high-frequency response of beams in a thermal environment, which is a topic of concern in aerospace and automotive industries. The temperature load applied on the structures can generate thermal stresses and change material properties. The wavenumber and group velocity associated with the in-plane axial force arising from thermal stresses are included in the derivation of the governing energy equation, and the input power is obtained from the derived effective bending stiffness. In addition, effect of temperature-dependent material properties is considered in the EFA model. To verify the proposed formulation, numerical simulations are performed for a pinned-pinned beam in a uniform thermal environment. The EFA results are compared with the modal solutions for various frequencies and damping loss factors, and good correlations are observed. The results show that the spatial distributions and levels of energy density can be affected by the thermal effects, and the vibration response of beams increases with temperature.

The most promising JP-8+100 additive candidates consists of dispersants, detergents, antioxidants and metal deactivators. A series of tests were conducted in the Extended Duration Thermal Stability Test System to determine the thermal stability effects of the individual JP-8+100 additives and combinations of the additives. This paper will cover the test results and their relationship to future aircraft fuel systems. The Extended Duration Thermal Stability Test System was designed to conduct long duration tests at non-accelerated temperature conditions and resident times representative or aircraft/engine fuel systems. This system and its operating characteristics will also be covered in this paper.

A study of the feasibility of storing heated water in a deep sandstone aquifer in Minnesota is described. The aquifer consists of four hydraulic zones that are areally anisotropic and have average hydraulic conductivities that range from 0. 03 to 1. 2 meters per day. A preliminary axially symmetric, nonisothermal, isotropic, single-phase, radial-flow, thermal-energy-transport model was constructed to investigate the sensitivity of model simulation to various hydraulic and thermal properties of the aquifer. A three-dimensional flow and thermal-energy transport model was constructed to incorporate the areal anisotropy of the aquifer. Analytical solutions of equations describing areally anisotropic groundwater flow around a doublet-well system were used to specify model boundary conditions for simulation of heat injection. The entire heat-injection-testing period of approximately 400 days was simulated. Model-computed temperatures compared favorably with field-recorded temperatures, with differences of no more than plus or minus 8 degree C. For each test cycle, model-computed aquifer thermal efficiency, defined as total heat withdrawn divided by total heat injected, was within plus or minus 2% of the field-calculated values.

This research explored the use of vegetation in building facades as a potential solution to the problems of urban ecology and the excessive energy consumption in buildings. Vegetated facades substantially reduce building energy use, reduce the urban heat island effect, improve air quality, and increase the biodiversity of plants and animals in cities. The goal of this research was to evaluate the effects of plants on building thermal performance and energy consumption by developing a thermal model of a building facade covered with a layer of plants. The developed mathematical model accounts for thermal physical processes in a vegetated exterior wall including solar radiation, infrared radiative exchange between the facade and sky, the facade and ground, the facade and vegetation layer, convection to and from the facade, evapotranspiration from the plant layer, heat storage in the facade material, and heat conduction through the facade. The model calculates vegetated facade surface temperature and heat flux through the facade for multiple weather conditions, plant physiological characteristics, and facade parameters inputs. The model was validated with the results of a one-week long experiment measuring the thermal properties of bare and vegetated facades on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus. The experiment and subsequent sensitivity analysis demonstrated that a plant layer can effectively reduce the facade exterior surface temperature, daily temperature fluctuations, exterior wall temperature gradient, and, as a result, provide as much additionalthermal insulation to the facade as a 2.5 cm layer of expanded polystyrene insulation. The vegetated facade model was also used to analyze the reduction in energy consumption in generic office and residential thermal zones for multiple parameters. The simulations showed that energy reduction could be as high as 6.2% of annual total energy use and 34.6% of cooling energy use in residential thermal zones. Overall

Borehole thermalenergy storage (BTES) combined with solar thermalenergy harvesting is an economic technological system to garner and store energy as well as an environmentally-sustainable alternative for the heating of buildings. The first community-scale BTES system in North America was installed in 2007 in the Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC), about 35 miles south of Calgary, Canada. The BTES system involves direct circulation of water heated from solar thermal panels in the summer into a storage tank, after which it is circulate within an array of 144 closed-loop geothermal heat exchangers having a depth of 35 m and a spacing of 2.5 m. In the winter the circulation direction is reversed to supply heat to houses. Data collection over a six year period indicates that this system can supply more than 90% of the winter heating energy needs for 52 houses in the community. One major challenge facing the BTES system technology is the relatively low annual efficiency, i.e., the ratio of energy input and output is in the range of 15% to 40% for the system in Drake Landing. To better understand the working principles of BTES and to improve BTES performance for future applications at larger scales, a three-dimensional transient coupled fluid and heat transfer model is established using TOUGH2. The time-dependent injection temperatures and circulation rate measured over the six years of monitoring are used as model input. The simulations are calibrated using soil temperature data measured at different locations over time. The time-dependent temperature distributions within the borehole region agree well with the measured temperatures for soil with an intrinsic permeability of 10e-19 m2, an apparent thermal conductivity of 2.03 W/m°C, and a volumetric heat capacity of 2.31 MJ/m-3°C. The calibrated model serves as the basis for a sensitivity analysis of soil and operational parameters on BTES system efficiency preformed with TOUGH2. Preliminary results suggest 1) BTES

During the first 6-month injection-storage-recovery cycle of the Auburn University Aquifer ThermalEnergy Storage Project, water pumped from an upper supply aquifer was heated to an average temperature of 55°C with an oil-fired boiler and then injected into a lower storage aquifer. Injection and recovery temperatures, flow rates, and temperatures at six depths in 10 observation wells and hydraulic heads in seven wells were recorded twice daily. The second-cycle injection, which was performed in a manner similar to the first, began on September 23, 1978, and continued until November 25, 1978, when 58,010 m3 of water had been pumped into the storage aquifer. The major problem experienced during the first cycle, a clogging injection well, was reduced by regular backwashing. This was done 8 times during injection and resulted in a 24% average injection rate increase compared to the first cycle. A 63-day storage period ended on January 27, 1979, and production of hot water began with an initial temperature of 54°C. By March 23 this temperature had dropped to 33°C, with 66,400 m3 of water and 76% of the injected thermalenergy recovered. This compares to 66% recovery during the first cycle over the same drop in production temperature. Production of hot water continued until April 20, at which time 100,100 m3 of water and 89% of the injected thermalenergy was recovered at a final production temperature of 27.5°C. During the second cycle, measurements were made of relative land subsidence and rebound to a precision approaching 0.1 mm. The surface elevation near the injection well rose 4 mm during injection, fell during storage, and fell more rapidly toward its original elevation during production. This movement was due to thermal expansion and contraction rather than to effects caused by head changes in the storage aquifer.

The current study has examined four cases of a central receiver concentrated solar power plant with thermalenergy storage using the DELSOL and SOLERGY computer codes. The current state-of-the-art base case was compared with a theoretical high temperature case which was based on the scaling of some input parameters and the estimation of other parameters based on performance targets from the Department of Energy SunShot Initiative. This comparison was done for both current and high temperature cases in two configurations: a surround field with an external cylindrical receiver and a north field with a single cavity receiver. There is a fairly dramatic difference between the design point and annual average performance, especially in the solar field and receiver subsystems, and also in energy losses due to the thermalenergy storage being full to capacity. Additionally, there are relatively small differences (<2%) in annual average efficiencies between the Base and High Temperature cases, despite an increase in thermal to electric conversion efficiency of over 8%. This is due the increased thermal losses at higher temperature and operational losses due to subsystem start-up and shut-down. Thermalenergy storage can mitigate some of these losses by utilizing larger thermalenergy storage to ensure that the electric power production system does not need to stop and re-start as often, but solar energy is inherently transient. Economic and cost considerations were not considered here, but will have a significant impact on solar thermal electric power production strategy and sizing.

A numerical analysis has been developed to simulate the velocity and temperature fields in an industrial galvanizing bath for the continuous coating of steel strip. Operating variables such as ingot addition, line speed, and inductor mixing were evaluated in order to determine their effect on the velocity and temperature distribution in the bath. The simulations were carried out using high-performance computational fluid-dynamics software developed at the Industrial Materials Institute of the National Research Council Canada (IMI-NRC) in solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for steady-state and transient turbulent flow using the k-ɛ model. Cases with and without temperature-dependent density conditions were considered. It was found that the strip velocity does not alter the global flow pattern but modifies the velocities in the snout, near the strip, and near the sink and guide rolls. At a low inductor capacity, the effect of induced mixing is small but is considerably increased at the maximum inductor capacities used during ingot-melting periods. When considering the thermal effects, the flow is affected by variations in density especially near the inductors and the ingot, while little effect is observed near the sheet-and-roller region. Thermal effects are also amplified when the inductor operates at high capacity during ingot melting. The simulations allow visualization of regions of varying velocity and temperature fields and clearly illustrate the mixed and stagnant zones for different operating conditions.

A continuing effort to develop a new thermal battery technology based on the Li(Si)/FeS2 electrochemical couple is reported. The results relate to the long shelf life requirement for thermal batteries designed by Sandia, and include topics relevant to leakage through the hermetic seal and accelerated aging experiments with materials new to the technology. Conclusions relevant to leakage through the hermetic seal are that the maximum leak rate must not exceed 1.8 x 10(-7) w, where w is the grams of Li(Si) contained by a battery, and that a bomb type leak test can be designed that is adequate for most Li(Si)/FeS2 batteries. Conclusions relevant to long term compatibility of new materials include the following: nickel is not compatible with the iron disulfide in the cathode; the CaSi2 additive used to suppress the initial voltage transient does not react or degrade during accelerated aging experiments, but the use of that material can lead to an increase in the variability of the activated lives, especially for long life batteries; Grafoil current collectors used with the cathode do not degrade in accelerated aging experiments.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a biodegradable polymer, whose applicability is limited by its brittleness and narrow processing window. In this study a pomace extract (EP), from the bio-waste of winery industry, was used as thermal and processing stabilizer for PHB, aimed to engineer a totally bio-based system. The results showed that EP enhanced the thermal stability of PHB, which maintained high molecular weights after processing. This evidence was in agreement with the slower decrease in viscosity over time observed by rheological tests. EP also affected the melt crystallization kinetics and the overall crystallinity extent. Finally, dynamic mechanical and tensile tests showed that EP slightly improved the polymer ductility. The results are intriguing, in view of the development of sustainable alternatives to synthetic polymer additives, thus increasing the applicability of bio-based materials. Moreover, the reported results demonstrated the feasibility of the conversion of an agro-food by-product into a bio-resource in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way.

This paper presents a prototype of a thermalenergy harvesting mechanism using both pyroelectric and piezoelectric effect. Thermalenergy is one of abundant energy sources from various processes. Waste heat from a chip on a circuit board of the electronic device involves temperature differences from a few degrees C to over 100 °C. Therefore, 95 °C of a heat reservoir was used in this study. A repetitive time-dependant temperature variation is applied by a linear sliding table. The influence of heat conditions was investigated, by changing velocity and frequency of this linear sliding table. This energy harvesting mechanism employs Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT-5H), a bimetal beam and two neodymium magnets. The pyroelectric effect is caused by a time-dependent temperature variation, and the piezoelectric effect is caused by stress from deformation of the bimetal. A maximum power output 0.54 μW is obtained at an optimal condition when the load resistance is 610 kΩ.

addition of graphite to augment heat transfer rates was also tested. Melting and solidification temperatures largely matched predictions. The magnesium salts were found to be less stable under thermal cycling than the waxes. Graphite was only soluble in the waxes. Mixtures of magnesium salts and waxes yielded a layered composite with the less dense waxes creating a sealing layer over the salt layer that significantly increased the stability of the magnesium salts. Research into optimum heat exchangers and storage vessels for these applications indicates that horizontally oriented aluminum pipes with vertically oriented aluminum fins would be the best method of storing and retrieving energy. Fin spacing can be predicted by an equation based on target temperatures and PCM characteristics.

Numerical studies are proposed to predict and investigate the thermal characteristics of a thermal storage device consists of graphite foam matrix saturated with phase change material, PCM. The composite (graphite foam matrix saturated with PCM) is prepared by impregnation method under vacuum condition, and then is introduced into a cylindrical shell and tube device while it experiences its heat from an inner tube fluid. The two-dimensional numerical simulation is performed using the volume averaging technique; while the phases change process is modelled using the enthalpy porosity method. A series of numerical calculations have been done in order to analyze the influence of fluid operating conditions on the melting process of the paraffin/graphite foam. The results are given in terms of temperature or liquid fraction time history in paraffin/graphite foam composite, which show that the heat transfer rate of the device is effectively improved due to the high thermal conductivity of graphite foams. Therefore, paraffin/graphite foam composite can be considered as suitable candidates for latent heat thermalenergy storage device.

There are applications of high-voltage, energy-storage, capacitors where it is desirable that the energy storage capability can be reliably and predictably negated in abnormal environments such as fire. This property serves as a safety feature to prevent events of unintended consequence. The present paper describes studies of the thermal response characteristics of a cylindrically wound, discrete Mylar film/foil capacitor design. The experimental setups that simulate fires will be presented. Three different heat input geometries were employed: uniform radial input, spot radial input, and axial input. Heat input was controlled via feedback system to maintain specific temperature ramp rates. Both capacitor voltage and current were monitored during the thermal excursion to ascertain the failure temperature, i.e. when the capacitor permanently shorts. Temperature of failure data is presented for the three heat input cases along with a statistical analysis of the results and application implications. The physics of failure will be described in terms of the thermal/mechanical properties of the Mylar.

Concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) with thermalenergy storage (TES) represents an attractive alternative to conventional fossil fuels for base-load power generation. Sodium alanate (NaAlH4) is a well-known sodium-based complex metal hydride but, more recently, high-temperature sodium-based complex metal hydrides have been considered for TES. This review considers the current state of the art for NaH, NaMgH3- x F x , Na-based transition metal hydrides, NaBH4 and Na3AlH6 for TES and heat pumping applications. These metal hydrides have a number of advantages over other classes of heat storage materials such as high thermalenergy storage capacity, low volume, relatively low cost and a wide range of operating temperatures (100 °C to more than 650 °C). Potential safety issues associated with the use of high-temperature sodium-based hydrides are also addressed.

The operation temperature of advanced nuclear reactors is generally higher than commercial light water reactors and thermalenergy from advanced nuclear reactor can be used for various purposes such as liquid fuel production, district heating, desalination, hydrogen production, and other process heat applications, etc. Some of the major technology challenges that must be overcome before the advanced reactors could be licensed on the reactor side are qualification of next generation of nuclear fuel, materials that can withstand higher temperature, improvement in power cycle thermal efficiency by going to combined cycles, SCO2 cycles, successful demonstration of advanced compact heat exchangers in the prototypical conditions, and from the process side application the challenge is to transport the thermalenergy from the reactor to the process plant with maximum efficiency (i.e., with minimum temperature drop). The main focus of this study is on doing a parametric study of efficient heat transport system, with different coolants (mainly, water, He, and molten salts) to determine maximum possible distance that can be achieved.

We review some recent highlights from the applications of statistical-thermal models to different experimental measurements and lattice QCD thermodynamics that have been made during the last decade. We start with a short review of the historical milestones on the path of constructing statistical-thermal models for heavy-ion physics. We discovered that Heinz Koppe formulated in 1948, an almost complete recipe for the statistical-thermal models. In 1950, Enrico Fermi generalized this statistical approach, in which he started with a general cross-section formula and inserted into it, the simplifying assumptions about the matrix element of the interaction process that likely reflects many features of the high-energy reactions dominated by density in the phase space of final states. In 1964, Hagedorn systematically analyzed the high-energy phenomena using all tools of statistical physics and introduced the concept of limiting temperature based on the statistical bootstrap model. It turns to be quite often that many-particle systems can be studied with the help of statistical-thermal methods. The analysis of yield multiplicities in high-energy collisions gives an overwhelming evidence for the chemical equilibrium in the final state. The strange particles might be an exception, as they are suppressed at lower beam energies. However, their relative yields fulfill statistical equilibrium, as well. We review the equilibrium statistical-thermal models for particle production, fluctuations and collective flow in heavy-ion experiments. We also review their reproduction of the lattice QCD thermodynamics at vanishing and finite chemical potential. During the last decade, five conditions have been suggested to describe the universal behavior of the chemical freeze-out parameters. The higher order moments of multiplicity have been discussed. They offer deep insights about particle production and to critical fluctuations. Therefore, we use them to describe the freeze-out parameters

The principles involved in thermalenergy storage by sensible heat, chemical potential energy, and latent heat of fusion are examined for the purpose of evolving selection criteria for material candidates in the low ( 0 C) and high ( 100 C) temperature ranges. The examination identifies some unresolved theoretical considerations and permits a preliminary formulation of an energy storage theory. A number of candidates in the low and high temperature ranges are presented along with a rating of candidates or potential candidates. A few interesting candidates in the 0 to 100 C region are also included. It is concluded that storage by means of reactions whose reversibility can be controlled either by product removal or by catalytic means appear to offer appreciable advantages over storage with reactions whose reversability cannot be controlled. Among such advantages are listed higher heat storage capacities and more favorable options regarding temperatures of collection, storage, and delivery. Among the disadvantages are lower storage efficiencies.

Significant quantities that affect the internal structure of the sun are examined for factors that reduce the temperature near the sun's center. The four factors discussed are: opacity, central black hole, thermal instability, and additional neutrino sources.

This paper reports the recent progress of a new technology to scavenge thermalenergy, implying a double-step transduction through thermal buckling of a bilayer aluminum nitride / aluminum bridge and piezoelectric transduction. A completely new scavenger design is presented, improving greatly its final performance. The butterfly shape reduces the overall device mechanical rigidity, which leads to a decrease of buckling temperatures compared to previously studied rectangular plates. In a first time we compared performances of rectangular and butterfly plates with an equal thickness of Al and AlN. In a second time, with a thicker Al layer than AlN layer, we will study only butterfly structure in terms of output power and buckling temperatures, and compare it to the previous stack.

Sixty-seven firms that had received funding for development of solar thermalenergy systems (STES) were surveyed. The effect of the solar thermal technology systems program in accelerating (STES) were assessed. The 54 firms still developing STES were grouped into a production typology comparing the three major technologies with three basic functions. It was discovered that large and small firms were developing primarily central receiver systems, but also typically worked on more than one technology. Most medium-sized firms worked only on distributed systems. Federal support of STES was perceived as necessary to allow producers to take otherwise unacceptable risks. Approximately half of the respondents would drop out of STES if support were terminated, including a disproportionate number of medium-sized firms. A differentiated view of the technology, taking into account differing firm sizes and the various stages of technology development, was suggested for policy and planning purposes.

The phase change materials (PCMs) have been utilized widely for solar thermalenergy storage (TES) devices. The quality of these materials to remain at a particular temperature during solid-liquid, liquid-solid phase transition can also be utilized for many biomedical applications as well and has been explored in recent past already. This study reports some novel PCMs developed by them, along with some existing PCMs, to be used for such biomedical applications. Interestingly, it was observed that the heating/cooling properties of these PCMs enhance the quality of a variety of biomedical applications with many advantages (non-electric, no risk of electric shock, easy to handle, easy to recharge thermally, long life, cheap and easily available, reusable) over existing applications. Results of the present study are quite interesting and exciting, opening a plethora of opportunities for more work on the subject, which require overlapping expertise of material scientists, biochemists and medical experts for broader social benefits.

All explosives, under all conditions must be considered vulnerable to generation, accumulation and discharge of static charge. The low energy static hazards of the order as low as 2-3 mJ need to be guarded against in case of highly sensitive compounds namely primary explosives. The hazard is normally associated with manufacturing and filling operations due to discharge of static charge accumulated on a person supplying energy up to 20 mJ. To reduce the risk associated with static initiation hazard in the processing and handling of the explosives, the electrostatic sensitivity tests can provide an important input regarding electrostatic hazards. This paper presents electrostatic sensitivity data in terms of zero ignition probability data (E(SE0)) of some of the initiatory explosives such as nickel/cobalt hydrazinium nitrate, silver azide, lead azide and mercury salt of 5-nitro tetrazole. Similar data has also been presented for samples coated with polyvinyl pyrrolidone to study its effect on electrostatic sensitivity. The electrostatic spark sensitivity of some conventional and novel made to explain the increased spark sensitivity behavior on the basis of the possible primary explosives has been studied. The electrostatic spark sensitivity of primary explosives decreased in the order of AgN3 = NHN > PbN6 > MNT > CoHN > BNCP. A possible correlation of spark energy with approximation and assumption has been drawn with thermal, detonation and mechanical properties. The polyvinyl pyrrolidone coated samples followed the same order but interestingly with increased spark sensitivity. An attempt has been reasoning of dielectric nature of the materials or exothermic effects of decomposition products of PVP. The present work also reports the electrostatic spark sensitivity of cap compositions.

ThermalEnergy Storage (TES) offers the opportunity for the recovery and re-use of heat currently rejected to the ambient environment. Further, through the ability of TES to match an energy supply with a thermalenergy demand, TES increases efficiencies of energy systems and improves capacity factors of power plants. The US Department of Energy has been the leader in TES research, development, and demonstration since recognition in 1976 of the need for fostering energy conservation as a component of the national energy budget. The federal program on TES R and D is the responsibility of the Office of Energy Storage and Distribution within the US Department of Energy (DOE). The overall program is organized into three program areas: diurnal--relating primarily to lower temperature heat for use in residential and commercial buildings on a daily cycle; industrial--relating primarily to higher temperature heat for use in industrial and utility processes on an hourly to daily cycle; seasonal--relating primarily to lower temperature heat or chill for use in residential complexes (central supply as for apartments or housing developments), commercial (light manufacturing, processing, or retail), and industrial (space conditioning) on a seasonal to annual cycle. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

A thermal analysis and test is performed to determine flux and temperature variability for Phase change thermalenergy to investigation feasibility of use in a Stored ThermalEnergy Cookstove (STEC). The phase change material (PCM) NaNO3-KNO3 Eutectic (52:48) Solar Salt is identified for energy storage in STEC due to a melting temperature of 222°C which is deemed appropriate for use in cooking up to temperatures of 200°C +/- 20°C. 1-D planar and cylindrical analytical multiphase solutions are correlated with a transient non-linear ANSYS Finite Element Model (FEM). 1-D idealized models of planar and cylindrical analytical multiphase solutions show the flux stability of cylindrical solidification is twice that of planar solidification. Flux drops a linear average of 0.5%/min in the last half hour of a one hour cooking session in cylindrical solidification vs 1%/min in planar solidification under a constant temperature (dirichlet) boundary condition of 42°C below the melting point of the PCM. Solidification progresses more quickly in the planar case yielding a solid PCM thickness of 3.3 cm after one hour vs 2.4 cm in the cylindrical case. A test is performed on a simplified simple STEC apparatus to investigate cooling rates of the cooking surface while boiling water. 0.5L of water is brought to boil from room temperature with a linear average cooking surface flux of 21,000 W/m2 and a cooking surface cooling rate of 3.8°C/min. Results show increasing the thermal conductivity of the PCM and reducing the total thickness of the solidifying PCM layer before and after discharge will reduce cooling rates, improve stability of the flux delivery device, and increase feasibility of use. Pursuing lower flux cooking and non-cooking applications may increase likelihood of adoption by reducing thermal gradients during discharge. A proposal to explore further development of STEC to aid adoption is discussed.

This report describes the results of an evaluation of thermalenergy storage (TES) integrated with simple gas turbine cogeneration systems. The TES system captures and stores thermalenergy from the gas turbine exhaust for immediate or future generation of process heat. Integrating thermalenergy storage with conventional cogeneration equipment increases the initial cost of the combined system; but, by decoupling electric power and process heat production, the system offers the following significant advantages: (1) electric power can be generated on demand, irrespective of the process heat load profile, thus increasing the value of the power produced; (2) although supplementary firing could be used to serve independently varying electric and process heat loads, this approach is inefficient. Integrating TES with cogeneration can serve the two independent loads while firing all fuel in the gas turbine. The study evaluated the cost of power produced by cogeneration and cogeneration/TES systems designed to serve a fixed process steam load. The value of the process steam was set at the levelized cost estimated for the steam from a conventional stand-alone boiler. Power costs for combustion turbine and combined-cycle power plants were also calculated for comparison. The results indicated that peak power production costs for the cogeneration/TES systems were between 25 and 40 percent lower than peak power costs estimated for a combustion turbine and between 15 and 35 percent lower than peak power costs estimated for a combined-cycle plant. The ranges reflect differences in the daily power production schedule and process steam pressure/temperature assumptions for the cases evaluated. Further cost reductions may result from optimization of current cogeneration/TES system designs and improvement in TES technology through future research and development.

We assessed the thermal environment of eight recently built low-energy houses and twelve conventional Finnish houses. We monitored living room, bedroom and outdoor air temperatures and room air relative humidity from June 2012 to September 2013. Perceived thermal environment was evaluated using a questionnaire survey during the heating, cooling and interim seasons. We compared the measured and perceived thermal environments of the low-energy and conventional houses. The mean air temperature was 22.8 °C (21.9-23.8 °C) in the low-energy houses, and 23.3 °C (21.4-26.5 °C) in the conventional houses during the summer (1. June 2013-31. August 2013). In the winter (1. December 2012-28. February 2013), the mean air temperature was 21.3 °C (19.8-22.5 °C) in the low-energy houses, and 21.6 °C (18.1-26.4 °C) in the conventional houses. The variation of the air temperature was less in the low-energy houses than that in the conventional houses. In addition, the occupants were on average slightly more satisfied with the indoor environment in the low-energy houses. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the mean air temperature and relative humidity of the low-energy and conventional houses. Our measurements and surveys showed that a good thermal environment can be achieved in both types of houses.

rocket. However, limited research has gone into using this material at high temperatures. Therefore, silicon is also being considered as a moderate...and what appears to be self limiting contamination with molten silicon [7, 12]. In addition to containing the PCM, consideration must be made to...16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON Marcus Young a. REPORT

Stream restoration structures such as large wood can enhance shallow river-groundwater exchange, or hyporheic exchange, and alter temperature dynamics in restored reaches. We added and then removed channel-spanning logs in a second-order mountain meadow stream to test short-term impacts on hyporheic exchange, streambed temperatures, and surface water temperatures. Based on vertical seepage measurements and numerical simulations of hyporheic fluid and heat flow, large wood addition increased hyporheic exchange and altered streambed temperatures. In this losing stream, meter-scale hyporheic exchange cells formed beneath large wood. Upwelling pore water downstream of logs stabilized diel temperature cycles across <8% of the streambed, creating localized but potentially valuable thermal refuge. Exchange rates were <0.1% of channel discharge—too small to impact the range of diel temperature signals in surface water. However, the lag between downstream and upstream diel temperature signals was slightly greater with large wood, which may indicate that surface storage zones rather than hyporheic storage zones increased thermal retardation. Losing conditions limited the spatial extent and rates of hyporheic exchange near large wood. Impacts of large wood reintroduction on hyporheic exchange depend on ambient groundwater discharge or recharge, streambed permeability, channel Froude number, large wood blockage ratio, and large wood spacing. In many streams, large wood reintroduction may increase hyporheic habitat volume and complexity but may not increase exchange rates enough to alter surface water temperature or chemistry. Surface storage zones such as eddies and pools can still influence heat and solute retention in the channel.

Films based on chitosan and xanthan gum were prepared using casting technique aiming to investigate the potential of these polymers as packaging materials. Six formulations of films were studied varying the proportion of chitosan and xanthan gum: 100:0 (chitosan:xanthan gum, w/w, C100XG0 film); 90:10 (chitosan:xanthan gum, w/w, C90XG10 film); 80:20 (chitosan:xanthan gum, w/w, C80XG20 film); 70:30 (chitosan:xanthan gum, w/w, C70XG30 film); 60:40 (chitosan:xanthan gum, w/w, C60XG40 film); and 50:50 (chitosan:xanthan gum, w/w, C50XG50 film). The total quantity of solids (chitosan and xanthan gum) in the filmogenic solution was 1.5 g per 100 mL of aqueous solution for all treatments, according to the proportion of each polymer. The films were evaluated by their functional groups, structural, thermal, morphological, physical, mechanical, and barrier properties. All films have presented endothermic peaks in the range of 122 to 175 °C and broad exothermic peaks above 200 °C, which were assigned to the melting temperature and thermal decomposition, respectively. These results demonstrated that films with xanthan gum have the highest Tm and Δm H. The films containing higher content of xanthan gum show also the highest tensile strength and the lowest elongation. Xanthan gum addition did not affect the water vapor permeability, solubility, and moisture of films. This set of data suggests the formation of chitosan-xanthan complexes in the films.

A solar thermalenergy collection and storage system is disclosed. Water is contained, and the water surface is exposed directly to the sun. The central part of an impermeable membrane is positioned below the water's surface and above its bottom with a first side of the membrane pointing generally upward in its central portion. The perimeter part of the membrane is placed to create a watertight boundary separating the water into a first volume which is directly exposable to the sun and which touches the membranes first side, and a second volumn which touches the membranes second side. A salt is dissolved in the first water volume.

This paper presents the results of recent measurements of CO{sub 2} release from an open-cycle ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) experiment. Based on these data, the rate of short-term CO{sub 2} release from future open-cycle OTEC plants is projected to be 15 to 25 times smaller than that from fossil-fueled electric power plants. OTEC system that incorporate subsurface mixed discharge are expected to result in no long-term release. OTEC plants can significantly reduce CO{sub 2} emissions when substituted for fossil-fueled power generation. 12 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

Several types of heat storage units for solar power plants with thermodynamic cycles of energy conversion are examined, including specific-heat units (particularly water-vapor devices), thermochemical units, and phase-change units. The dependence of specific capital costs for heat storage units upon time of operation is discussed, and particular consideration is give to types of connections of specific-heat units into the thermal circuit of a power plant, and to a phase-change unit that uses a heat pipe for internal heat transport.

The viability of using fluidized bed heat exchangers (FBHX) for thermalenergy storage (TES) in applications with potential for waste heat recovery was investigated. Of the candidate applications screened, cement plant rotary kilns and steel plant electric arc furnaces were identified, via the chosen selection criteria, as having the best potential for successful use of FBHX/TES system. A computer model of the FBHX/TES systems was developed and the technical feasibility of the two selected applications was verified. Economic and tradeoff evaluations in progress for final optimization of the systems and selection of the most promising system for further concept validation are described.

In this lecture an overview of the heat and mass-transfer phenomena of importance in ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) is presented with particular emphasis on open-cycle OTEC systems. Also included is a short historical review of OTEC developments in the past century and a comparison of open and closed-cycle thermodynamics. Finally, results of system analyses, showing the effect of plant size on cost and the near-term potential of using OTEC for combined power production and desalination systems, are briefly discussed.

In this lecture an overview of the heat- and mass-transfer phenomena of importance in ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) is presented with particular emphasis on open-cycle OTEC systems. Also included is a short historical review of OTEC developments in the past century and a comparison of open- and closed-cycle thermodynamics. Finally, results of system analyses, showing the effect of plant size on cost and the near-term potential of using OTEC for combined power production and desalination systems are briefly discussed.

The Main Listing is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the first author. Each citation includes the author's name, title, publisher, publication date, and where applicable, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) number or other document number. The number preceding each citation is the identification number for that document in the Seasonal ThermalEnergy Storage (STES) Library. Occasionally, one or two alphabetic characters are added to the identification number. These alphabetic characters indicate that the document is contained in a collection of papers, such as the proceedings of a conference. An Author Index and an Identification Number Index are included. (WHK)

Proposed thermal-energy-storage system based on mixture of alkali metal and one of its halide salts; metal and salt form slurry of two immiscible melts. Use of slurry expected to prevent incrustations of solidified salts on heat-transfer surfaces that occur where salts alone used. Since incrustations impede heat transfer, system performance improved. In system, charging heat-exchanger surface immersed in lower liquid, rich in halide-salt, phase-charge material. Discharging heat exchanger surface immersed in upper liquid, rich in alkali metal.

Existing and advanced electrochemical storage and inversion/conversion systems that may be used with terrestrial solar-thermal power systems are evaluated. The status, cost and performance of existing storage systems are assessed, and the cost, performance, and availability of advanced systems are projected. A prime consideration is the cost of delivered energy from plants utilizing electrochemical storage. Results indicate that the five most attractive electrochemical storage systems are the: iron-chromium redox (NASA LeRC), zinc-bromine (Exxon), sodium-sulfur (Ford), sodium-sulfur (Dow), and zinc-chlorine (EDA).

The paper examines a study the purpose of which is to assess the performance of solar thermal power systems insofar as it depends on the dynamic character of system components and the solar radiation which drives them. Using a dynamic model, the daily operation of two conceptual solar conversion systems was simulated under varying operating strategies and several different time-dependent radiation intensity functions. These curves ranged from smoothly varying input of several magnitudes to input of constant total energy whose intensity oscillated with periods from 1/4 hour to 6 hours.

Promising thermalenergy storage systems for midterm applications in conventional electric utilities for peaking power generation are evaluated. Conceptual designs of selected thermalenergy storage systems integrated with conventional utilities are considered including characteristics of alternate systems for peaking power generation, viz gas turbines and coal fired cycling plants. Competitive benefit analysis of thermalenergy storage systems with alternate systems for peaking power generation and recommendations for development and field test of thermalenergy storage with a conventional utility are included. Results indicate that thermalenergy storage is only marginally competitive with coal fired cycling power plants and gas turbines for peaking power generation.

Cool storage technology can be used to significantly reduce energy costs by allowing energy-intensive, electrically driven cooling equipment to be predominantly operated during off peak hours when electricity rates are lower. This Federal Technology Alert, which is sponsored by DOE's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), describes the basic types of cool storage technologies and cooling system integration options. In addition, it defines the savings potential in the federal sector, presents application advice, and describes the performance experience of specific federal users. The results of a case study of a GSA building using cool storage technology are also provided.

Scrap preheating in foundries is a technology that saves melting energy, leading to economic and environmental benefits. The proposed method in this paper utilizes solar thermalenergy for preheating scrap, effected through a parabolic trough concentrator that focuses sunlight onto a receiver which carries the metallic scrap. Scraps of various thicknesses were placed on the receiver to study the heat absorption by them. Experimental results revealed the pattern with which heat is gained by the scrap, the efficiency of the process and how it is affected as the scrap gains heat. The inferences from them gave practical guidelines on handling scraps for best possible energy savings. Based on the experiments conducted, preheat of up to 160 °C and a maximum efficiency of 70 % and a minimum efficiency of 40 % could be achieved across the time elapsed and heat gained by the scrap. Calculations show that this technology has the potential to save around 8 % of the energy consumption in foundries. Cumulative benefits are very encouraging: 180.45 million kWh of energy savings and 203,905 t of carbon emissions cut per year across the globe. This research reveals immense scope for this technology to be adopted by foundries throughout the world.

dividing the sum of the total heat transferred from the oil by the total energy used by the compressor motor for each test run. The input energy ...significant heat transfer area and open pore space. Additionally, CNTs have impressive mechanical , electrical, and thermal properties. Growing CNTs on...measurement, and mechanical pull-off testing. Details of the testing and characterization will be described in the next section. Detailed Technical

In this study, PMMA/heneicosane (C21) and PMMA/octacosane (C28) micro-nano capsules were fabricated via emulsion polymerisation method. The chemical structures of the fabricated capsules were verified with the FT-IR spectroscopy analysis. The results of POM, SEM and PSD analysis indicated that most of the capsules were consisted of micro/nano-sized spheres with compact surface. The DSC measurements showed that the capsules had melting temperature in the range of about 39-60 °C and latent heat energy storage capacity in the range of about 138-152 J/g. The results of TGA showed that sublimit temperature values regarding the first degradation steps of both capsules were quite over the phase change or working temperatures of encapsulated paraffins. The thermal cycling test exhibited that the capsules had good thermal reliability and chemical stability. Additionally, the prepared capsules had reasonably high thermal conductivity.

Phenotypic selection is widely accepted as the primary cause of adaptive evolution in natural populations, but selection on complex functional properties linking physiology, behavior, and morphology has been rarely quantified. In ectotherms, correlational selection on thermal physiology, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism is of special interest because of their potential coadaptation. We quantified phenotypic selection on thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance (sprint speed), thermal preferences, and resting metabolic rate in captive populations of an ectothermic vertebrate, the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara. No correlational selection between thermal sensitivity of performance, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism was found. A combination of high body mass and resting metabolic rate was positively correlated with survival and negatively correlated with fecundity. Thus, different mechanisms underlie selection on metabolism in lizards with small body mass than in lizards with high body mass. In addition, lizards that selected the near average preferred body temperature grew faster that their congeners. This is one of the few studies that quantifies significant correlational selection on a proxy of energy expenditure and stabilizing selection on thermoregulatory behavior.

Phenotypic selection is widely accepted as the primary cause of adaptive evolution in natural populations, but selection on complex functional properties linking physiology, behavior, and morphology has been rarely quantified. In ectotherms, correlational selection on thermal physiology, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism is of special interest because of their potential coadaptation. We quantified phenotypic selection on thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance (sprint speed), thermal preferences, and resting metabolic rate in captive populations of an ectothermic vertebrate, the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara. No correlational selection between thermal sensitivity of performance, thermoregulatory behavior, and energy metabolism was found. A combination of high body mass and resting metabolic rate was positively correlated with survival and negatively correlated with fecundity. Thus, different mechanisms underlie selection on metabolism in lizards with small body mass than in lizards with high body mass. In addition, lizards that selected the near average preferred body temperature grew faster that their congeners. This is one of the few studies that quantifies significant correlational selection on a proxy of energy expenditure and stabilizing selection on thermoregulatory behavior. PMID:26380689

The theraml energy release of nuclear wastes is a major factor in the design of geologic repositories. Thermal limits need to be placed on various aspets of the geologic waste disposal system to avoid or retard the degradation of repository performance because of increased temperatures. The thermal limits in current use today are summarized in this report. These limits are placed in a hierarchial structure of thermal criteria consistent with the failure mechanism they are trying to prevent. The thermal criteria hierarchy is used to evaluate the thermal performance of a sample repository design. The design consists of disassembled BWR spent fuel, aged 10 years, close packed in a carbon steel canister with 15 cm of crushed salt backfill. The medium is bedded salt. The most-restrictive temperature for this design is the spent-fuel centerline temperature limit of 300/sup 0/C. A sensitivity study on the effects of additional cooling prior to disposal on repository thermal limits and design is performed.

In the past, NASA has employed solar photovoltaic devices for long-duration missions. Thus, the Skylab system has operated with a silicon photovoltaic array and a nickel-cadmium electrochemical system energy storage system. Difficulties regarding the employment of such a system for the larger power requirements of the Space Station are related to a low orbit system efficiency and the large weight of the battery. For this reason the employment of a solar dynamic power system (SDPS) has been considered. The primary components of an SDPS include a concentrating mirror, a heat receiver, a thermalenergy storage (TES) system, a thermodynamic heat engine, an alternator, and a heat rejection system. The heat-engine types under consideration are a Brayton cycle engine, an organic Rankine cycle engine, and a free-piston/linear-alternator Stirling cycle engine. Attention is given to a system description, TES integration concepts, and a TES technology assessment.

A thermalenergy storage (TES) system developed for use with the Stirling engine as an automotive power system has gravimetric and volumetric storage densities which are competitive with electric battery storage systems, meets all operational requirements for a practical vehicle, and can be packaged in compact sized automobiles with minimum impact on passenger and freight volume. The TES/Stirling system is the only storage approach for direct use of combustion heat from fuel sources not suitable for direct transport and use on the vehicle. The particular concept described is also useful for a dual mode TES/liquid fuel system in which the TES (recharged from an external energy source) is used for short duration trips (approximately 10 miles or less) and liquid fuel carried on board the vehicle used for long duration trips. The dual mode approach offers the potential of 50 percent savings in the consumption of premium liquid fuels for automotive propulsion in the United States.

A method for impregnating a porous, non-metallic construction material with a solid phase-change material is described. The phase-change material in finely divided form is spread onto the surface of the porous material, after which the porous material is exposed to microwave energy for a time sufficient to melt the phase-change material. The melted material is spontaneously absorbed into the pores of the porous material. A sealing chemical may also be included with the phase-change material (or applied subsequent tc the phase-change material) to seal the surface of the porous material. Fire retardant chemicals may also be included with the phase-change materials. The treated construction materials are better able to absorb thermalenergy and exhibit increased heat storage capacity.

This paper considers the use of thermalenergy storage (TES) in molten salts to increase the capacity of power plants. Five existing fossil and nuclear electric utility plants were selected as representative of current technology. A review of system load diagrams indicated that TES to meet loads over 95% of peak was a reasonable goal. Alternate TES heat exchanger locations were evaluated, showing that the stored energy should be used either for feedwater heating or to generate steam for an auxiliary power cycle. Specific salts for each concept are recommended. Design layouts were prepared for one plant, and it was shown that a TES tube/shell heat exchanger system could provide about 7% peaking capability at lower cost than adding steam generation capacity. Promising alternate heat exchanger concepts were also identified.

A method for impregnating a porous, non-metallic construction material with a solid phase-change material is described. The phase-change material in finely divided form is spread onto the surface of the porous material, after which the porous material is exposed to microwave energy for a time sufficient to melt the phase-change material. The melted material is spontaneously absorbed into the pores of the porous material. A sealing chemical may also be included with the phase-change material (or applied subsequent to the phase-change material) to seal the surface of the porous material. Fire retardant chemicals may also be included with the phase-change materials. The treated construction materials are better able to absorb thermalenergy and exhibit increased heat storage capacity.

Simplified mathematical models are developed to describe the extraction of thermalenergy from magma based on the concept of a counterflow heat exchanger inserted into the magma body. Analytical solutions are used to investigate influence of the basic variables on electric power production. Calculations confirm that the proper heat exchanger flow path is down the annulus with hot fluid returning to the surface through the central core. The core must be insulated from the annulus to achieve acceptable wellhead temperatures, but this insulation thickness can be quite small. The insulation is effective in maintaining the colder annular flow below expected formation temperatures so that a net heat gain from the formation above a magma body is predicted. The analyses show that optimum flow rates exist that maximize electric power production. These optimum flow rates are functions of the heat transfer coefficients that describe magma energy extraction. 15 refs., 3 figs.

Significant acccrmplishments in Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) technology have increased the probability of producing OTEC-derived power within this decade with subsequent large scale commercialization following by the turn of the century. Under U.S. Department of Energy funding, the Oceanic Engineering Operations of Interstate Electronics Corporation has prepared several OTEC Environmental Assessments over the past years, in particular, the OTEC Programmatic Environmental Assessment. The Programmatic EA considers several technological designs (open- and closed-cycle), plant configuratlons (land-based, moored, and plant-ship), and power usages (baseload electricity, ammonia and aluminum production). Potential environmental impacts, health and safetv issues and a status update of the institutional issues as they influence OTEC deployments, are included.

A method for impregnating a porous, non-metallic construction material with a solid phase-change material is described. The phase-change material in finely divided form is spread onto the surface of the porous material, after which the porous material is exposed to microwave energy for a time sufficient to melt the phase-change material. The melted material is spontaneously absorbed into the pores of the porous material. A sealing chemical may also be included with the phase-change material (or applied subsequent to the phase-change material) to seal the surface of the porous material. Fire retardant chemicals may also be included with the phase-change materials. The treated construction materials are better able to absorb thermalenergy and exhibit increased heat storage capacity.

A method for impregnating a porous, non-metallic construction material with a solid phase-change material is described. The phase-change material in finely divided form is spread onto the surface of the porous material, after which the porous material is exposed to microwave energy for a time sufficient to melt the phase-change material. The melted material is spontaneously absorbed into the pores of the porous material. A sealing chemical may also be included with the phase-change material (or applied subsequent to the phase-change material) to seal the surface of the porous material. Fire retardant chemicals may also be included with the phase-change materials. The treated construction materials are better able to absorb thermalenergy and exhibit increased heat storage capacity.

As part of GRACES (Gemini Remote Access to CFHT ESPaDOnS Spectrograph), a project to link the Gemini-North telescope to the ESPaDOnS (Echelle Polarimetric Device for the Observation of Stars) spectrograph at CFHT (Canada- France-Hawaii Telescope), the original thermal enclosure of the spectrograph needed to be modified. Although the modifications were slight, there was a significant possibility that the thermal stability of ESPaDOnS would be somewhat compromised. To eliminate this risk, a walk-in thermal enclosure was purchased and installed around the ESPaDOnS spectrograph as part of the GRACES project. The thermal impact of these modifications to the ESPaDOnS environment will be analyzed and the effect of the changes on the amplitude and behavior of the spectral drift for the ESPaDOnS and GRACES instruments will be examined. While the outer enclosure has reduced the extremes in thermal variation, this has not had a direct effect on the stability of the spectra.

This report describes the results of a simulation of thermalenergy storage (TES) integrated with a simple-cycle gas turbine cogeneration system. Integrating TES with cogeneration can serve the electrical and thermal loads independently while firing all fuel in the gas turbine. The detailed engineering and economic feasibility of diurnal TES systems integrated with cogeneration systems has been described in two previous PNL reports. The objective of this study was to lay the ground work for optimization of the TES system designs using a simulation tool called TRNSYS (TRaNsient SYstem Simulation). TRNSYS is a transient simulation program with a sequential-modular structure developed at the Solar Energy Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The two TES systems selected for the base-case simulations were: (1) a one-tank storage model to represent the oil/rock TES system; and (2) a two-tank storage model to represent the molten nitrate salt TES system. Results of the study clearly indicate that an engineering optimization of the TES system using TRNSYS is possible. The one-tank stratified oil/rock storage model described here is a good starting point for parametric studies of a TES system. Further developments to the TRNSYS library of available models (economizer, evaporator, gas turbine, etc.) are recommended so that the phase-change processes is accurately treated.

The coefficient of restitution is a measure of energy dissipation in a system across impact events. Often, the dissipative qualities of a pair of impacting components are neglected during the design phase. This research looks at the effect of applying a thin layer of metallic coating, using thermal spray technologies, to significantly alter the dissipative properties of a system. We studied the dissipative properties across multiple impacts in order to assess the effects of work hardening, the change in microstructure, and the change in surface topography. The results of the experiments indicate that any work hardening-like effects are likely attributablemore » to the crushing of asperities, and the permanent changes in the dissipative properties of the system, as measured by the coefficient of restitution, are attributable to the microstructure formed by the thermal spray coating. Furthermore, the microstructure appears to be robust across impact events of moderate energy levels, exhibiting negligible changes across multiple impact events.« less

Phase change emulsion (PCE) is a novel fluid used for heat storage and transfer. It has the following characteristics: higher apparent specific heat and higher heat transfer ability in the phase-change temperature range as compared to the conventional single-phase heat transfer fluids. In particular, oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions are latent heat storage materials that have low melting points, thus offering attractive opportunities for heat transfer enhancement and thermalenergy transportation and storage. In this paper, milky white oil-in-water emulsions have been formed using water, Tween 80, Span 80, and tetradecane by low-energy emulsification methods (e.g., the phase inversion temperature (PIT) method). The relations between the component ratios of the emulsions and both the particle diameters and the stability of the resulting emulsions have been determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and vibration viscometry. The results show that the apparent viscosity of the nanoemulsion is lower than that of an emulsion, which was prepared with the same mixing ratio of surfactant and concentration of phase change material. Moreover, the surfactant concentration is found to contribute to the stability of the phase change nanoemulsion. Results indicate that the phase change nanoemulsion is a promising material for thermal storage applications.

A proposed system would exploit the ocean thermal gradient for recharging the batteries in a battery-powered unmanned underwater vehicle [UUV (essentially, a small exploratory submarine robot)] of a type that has been deployed in large numbers in research pertaining to global warming. A UUV of this type travels between the ocean surface and depths, measuring temperature and salinity. The proposed system is related to, but not the same as, previously reported ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) systems that exploit the ocean thermal gradient but consist of stationary apparatuses that span large depth ranges. The system would include a turbine driven by working fluid subjected to a thermodynamic cycle. CO2 has been provisionally chosen as the working fluid because it has the requisite physical properties for use in the range of temperatures expected to be encountered in operation, is not flammable, and is much less toxic than are many other commercially available refrigerant fluids. The system would be housed in a pressurized central compartment in a UUV equipped with a double hull (see figure). The thermodynamic cycle would begin when the UUV was at maximum depth, where some of the CO2 would condense and be stored, at relatively low temperature and pressure, in the annular volume between the inner and outer hulls. The cycle would resume once the UUV had ascended to near the surface, where the ocean temperature is typically greater than or equals 20 C. At this temperature, the CO2 previously stored at depth in the annular volume between the inner and outer hulls would be pressurized to approx. equals 57 bar (5.7 MPa). The pressurized gaseous CO2 would flow through a check valve into a bladder inside the pressurized compartment, thereby storing energy of the relatively warm, pressurized CO2 for subsequent use after the next descent to maximum depth.

A novel approach for efficient manufacturing of three-dimensional (3D) microstructured scaffolds designed for cell studies and tissue engineering applications is presented. A thermal extrusion (fused filament fabrication) 3D printer is employed as a simple and low-cost tabletop device enabling rapid materialization of CAD models out of biocompatible and biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA). Here it was used to produce cm- scale microporous (pore size varying from 100 to 400 µm) scaffolds. The fabricated objects were further laser processed in a direct laser writing (DLW) subtractive (ablation) and additive (lithography) manners. The first approach enables precise surface modification by creating micro-craters, holes and grooves thus increasing the surface roughness. An alternative way is to immerse the 3D PLA scaffold in a monomer solution and use the same DLW setup to refine its inner structure by fabricating dots, lines or a fine mesh on top as well as inside the pores of previously produced scaffolds. The DLW technique is empowered by ultrafast lasers - it allows 3D structuring with high spatial resolution in a great variety of photosensitive materials. Structure geometry on macro- to micro- scales could be finely tuned by combining these two fabrication techniques. Such artificial 3D substrates could be used for cell growth or as biocompatible-biodegradable implants. This combination of distinct material processing techniques enables rapid fabrication of diverse functional micro- featured and integrated devices. Hopefully, the proposed approach will find numerous applications in the field of ms, microfluidics, microoptics and many others.

The plasmonic heating effect of noble nanoparticles has recently received tremendous attention for various important applications. Herein, we report the utilization of interfacial plasmonic heating-assisted evaporation for efficient and facile solar-thermalenergy harvest. An airlaid paper-supported gold nanoparticle thin film was placed at the thermalenergy conversion region within a sealed chamber to convert solar energy into thermalenergy. The generated thermalenergy instantly vaporizes the water underneath into hot vapors that quickly diffuse to the thermalenergy release region of the chamber to condense into liquids and release the collected thermalenergy. The condensed water automatically flows back to the thermalenergy conversion region under the capillary force from the hydrophilic copper mesh. Such an approach simultaneously realizes efficient solar-to-thermalenergy conversion and rapid transportation of converted thermalenergy to target application terminals. Compared to conventional external photothermal conversion design, the solar-thermal harvesting device driven by the internal plasmonic heating effect has reduced the overall thermal resistance by more than 50% and has demonstrated more than 25% improvement of solar water heating efficiency.

Upon addition of catalytic amounts of acid, a closed diarylethene derivative carrying a fluorenol moiety undergoes facile thermal ring opening. The underlying thermodynamics and kinetics of the entire system have been analysed experimentally as well as computationally. Our work suggests that general acid catalysis provides a useful tool to bypass thermal barriers, by opening new reaction pathways, and to efficiently trigger the release of light energy stored in photoswitches.

The storage of thermalenergy in aquifers has recently received considerable attention as a means to conserve and more efficiently use energy supplies. The analysis of aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES) systems will rely on the results from mathematical and geochemical models. Therefore, the state-of-the-art models relevant to ATES was reviewed and evaluated. These models describe important processes active in ATES including ground-water flow, heat transport (heat flow), solute transport (movement of contaminants), and geochemical reactions. In general, available models of the saturated ground-water environment are adequate to address most concerns associated with ATES; that is, design, operation, and environmental assessment. In those cases where models are not adequate, development should be preceded by efforts to identify significant physical phenomena and relate model parameters to measurable quantities. Model development can then proceed with the expectation of an adequate data base existing for the model's eventual use. Review of model applications to ATES shows that the major emphasis has been on generic sensitivity analysis and site characterization. Assuming that models are applied appropriately, the primary limitation on model calculations is the data base used to construct the model. Numerical transport models are limited by the uncertainty of subsurface data and the lack of long-term historical data for calibration. Geochemical models are limited by the lack of thermodynamic data for the temperature ranges applicable to ATES. Model applications undertaken with data collection activities on ATES sites should provide the most important contributions to the understanding and utilization of ATES. Therefore, the primary conclusion of this review is that model application to field sites in conjunction with data collection activities is essential to the development of this technology.

An experimental program to investigate the corrosion compatibility of the high temperature thermalenergy storage (TES) salts with Inconel-617 container was initiated at the Thermal Laboratory of the Wright Research and Development Center (WRDC) in 1985. Three fluoride eutectic mixtures: LiF-MgF2-KF, LiF-MgF2-NaF, and LiF-MgF2 having melting points in the neighborhood of 1000 K and heats of fusion above 750 kJ/kg were chosen. High purity analytical grade component salts were processed in oxygen and moisture-free inert atmosphere, and melted in situ in the Inconel-617 containers. The containers were sealed by electron beam-welding of the end caps thereby evacuating the void volume. The TES capsules thus formed were placed in a tubular vacuum furnace for continuous thermal cycle life testing by cycling them ±100 K from the eutectic temperature every 2 hours. The capsules have successfully undergone 40,000 hours and 10,000 cycles of testing as of April 1990 and continuing on the test. This is believed to be the longest record available on the TES corrosion compatibility data. The present results clearly indicate that careful processing and proper welding are key factors in obtaining a longlife TES salt-containment system.

Now GRB high energy γ-emission was observed mostly by detectors onboard Fermi and Agile satellites. During most part of GRB high energy γ-emission registered some later than low energy trigger and lasts several hundreds of seconds, but its maxima are within low energy t90 intervals both for short and long bursts. But GRB090323, GRB090328 and GRB090626 temporal profiles have additional maxima after low energy t90 intervals finished. These bursts temporal profile analysis have shown that faint peaks in low energy bands close to the ends of low energy t90 intervals preceded such maxima. Moreover, these events low energy spectral index β behavior differs from usual GRB one according to preliminary analysis. We suppose that these GRB could be separated as different GRB type. In presented article this new GRB type properties are discussed.

One method being used to determine energy level(s) and electrical activity of impurities in silicon is described. The method is called capacitance transient spectroscopy (CTS). It can be classified into three basic categories: the thermally stimulated capacitance method, the voltage-stimulated capacitance method, and the light-stimulated capacitance method; the first two categories are discussed. From the total change in capacitance and the time constant of the capacitance response, emission rates, energy levels, and trap concentrations can be determined. A major advantage of using CTS is its ability to detect the presence of electrically active impurities that are invisible to other techniques, such as Zeeman effect atomic absorption, and the ability to detect more than one electrically active impurity in a sample. Examples of detection of majority and minority carrier traps from gold donor and acceptor centers in silicon using the capacitance transient spectrometer are given to illustrate the method and its sensitivity.

The EU legal frame imposes the Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) status to any new public building starting with January 1st, 2019 and for any other new building starting with 2021. Basically, nZEB represents a Low Energy Building (LEB) that covers more than half of the energy demand by using renewable energy systems installed on or close to it. Thus, two steps have to be followed in developing nZEB: (1) reaching the LEB status through state- of-the art architectural and construction solutions (for the new buildings) or through refurbishing for the already existent buildings, followed by (2) implementing renewables; in Romania, over 65% of the energy demand in a building is directly linked to heating, domestic hot water (DHW), and - in certain areas - for cooling. Thus, effort should be directed to reduce the thermalenergy demand to be further covered by using clean and affordable systems: solar- thermal systems, heat pumps, biomass, etc. or their hybrid combinations. Obviously this demand is influenced by the onsite climatic profile and by the building performance. An almost worst case scenario is approached in the paper, considering a community implemented in a mountain area, with cold and long winters and mild summers (Odorheiul Secuiesc city, Harghita county, Romania). Three representative types of buildings are analysed: multi-family households (in blocks of flats), single-family houses and administrative buildings. For the first two types, old and refurbished buildings were comparatively discussed.

A desirable feature of concentrated solar power (CSP) with integrated thermalenergy storage (TES) unit is to provide electricity in a dispatchable manner during cloud transient and non-daylight hours. Latent heat thermalenergy storage (LHTES) offers many advantages such as higher energy storage density, wider range of operating temperature and nearly isothermal heat transfer relative to sensible heat thermalenergy storage (SHTES), which is the current standard for trough and tower CSP systems. Despite the advantages mentioned above, LHTES systems performance is often limited by low thermal conductivity of commonly used, low cost phase change materials (PCMs). Research and development of passive heat transfer devices, such as heat pipes (HPs) to enhance the heat transfer in the PCM has received considerable attention. Due to its high effective thermal conductivity, heat pipe can transport large amounts of heat with relatively small temperature difference. The objective of this research is to study the charging and discharging processes of heat pipe-assisted LHTES systems using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental testing to develop a method for more efficient energy storage system design. The results revealed that the heat pipe network configurations and the quantities of heat pipes integrated in a thermalenergy storage system have a profound effect on the thermal response of the system. The optimal placement of heat pipes in the system can significantly enhance the thermal performance. It was also found that the inclusion of natural convection heat transfer in the CFD simulation of the system is necessary to have a realistic prediction of a latent heat thermal storage system performance. In addition, the effects of geometrical features and quantity of fins attached to the HPs have been studied.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) conducted this study for the Office of Advanced Utility Concepts of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The objective of this study was to develop a series of graphs that depict the long-term benefits of continuing DOE's thermalenergy storage (TES) research program in four sectors: building heating, building cooling, utility power production, and transportation. The study was conducted in three steps. The first step was to assess the maximum possible benefits technically achievable in each sector. In some sectors, the maximum benefit was determined by a 'supply side' limitation, and in other sectors, the maximum benefit is determined by a 'demand side' limitation. The second step was to apply economic cost and diffusion models to estimate the benefits that are likely to be achieved by TES under two scenarios: (1) with continuing DOE funding of TES research; and (2) without continued funding. The models all cover the 20-year period from 1990 to 2010. The third step was to prepare graphs that show the maximum technical benefits achievable, the estimated benefits with TES research funding, and the estimated benefits in the absence of TES research funding. The benefits of federally-funded TES research are largely in four areas: displacement of primary energy, displacement of oil and natural gas, reduction in peak electric loads, and emissions reductions.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) conducted this study for the Office of Advanced Utility Concepts of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The objective of this study was to develop a series of graphs that depict the long-term benefits of continuing DOE's thermalenergy storage (TES) research program in four sectors: building heating, building cooling, utility power production, and transportation. The study was conducted in three steps- The first step was to assess the maximum possible benefits technically achievable in each sector. In some sectors, the maximum benefit was determined by a supply side'' limitation, and in other sectors, the maximum benefit is determined by a demand side'' limitation. The second step was to apply economic cost and diffusion models to estimate the benefits that are likely to be achieved by TES under two scenarios: (1) with continuing DOE funding of TES research, and (2) without continued funding. The models all cover the 20-year period from 1990 to 2010. The third step was to prepare graphs that show the maximum technical benefits achievable, the estimated benefits with TES research funding, and the estimated benefits in the absence of TES research funding. The benefits of federally-funded TES research are largely in four areas: displacement of primary energy, displacement of oil and natural gas, reduction in peak electric loads, and emissions reductions.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) conducted this study for the Office of Advanced Utility Concepts of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The objective of this study was to develop a series of graphs that depict the long-term benefits of continuing DOE`s thermalenergy storage (TES) research program in four sectors: building heating, building cooling, utility power production, and transportation. The study was conducted in three steps- The first step was to assess the maximum possible benefits technically achievable in each sector. In some sectors, the maximum benefit was determined by a ``supply side`` limitation, and in other sectors, the maximum benefit is determined by a ``demand side`` limitation. The second step was to apply economic cost and diffusion models to estimate the benefits that are likely to be achieved by TES under two scenarios: (1) with continuing DOE funding of TES research, and (2) without continued funding. The models all cover the 20-year period from 1990 to 2010. The third step was to prepare graphs that show the maximum technical benefits achievable, the estimated benefits with TES research funding, and the estimated benefits in the absence of TES research funding. The benefits of federally-funded TES research are largely in four areas: displacement of primary energy, displacement of oil and natural gas, reduction in peak electric loads, and emissions reductions.

Public law reflects a United States national commitment to the rapid development of Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) as an alternate energy source. OTEC plants extract the stored solar energy from the world's tropical seas and in so doing pose a potential for altering the character of the ambient noise there. The sources of noise from an OTEC plant are analyzed in the context of four configurations, two of which were built and tested, and two which are concepts for future full-scale moored facilities. The analysis indicates that the noise resulting from the interaction of turbulence with the seawater pumps is expected to dominate in the frequency range 10 Hz to 1 kHz. Measured radiated noise data from the OTEC-I research plant, located near the island of Hawaii, are compared with the analysis. The measured data diverge from the predicted levels at frequencies above about 60 Hz because of dominant non-OTEC noise sources on this platform. However, at low frequency, the measured broadband noise is comparable to that predicted.

A rotary cement kiln and an electric arc furnace were chosen for evaluation to determine the applicability of a fluid bed heat exchanger (FBHX) for thermalenergy storage (TES). Multistage shallow bed FBHX's operating with high temperature differences were identified as the most suitable for TES applications. Analysis of the two selected conceptual systems included establishing a plant process flow configuration, an operational scenario, a preliminary FBHX/TES design, and parametric analysis. A computer model was developed to determine the effects of the number of stages, gas temperatures, gas flows, bed materials, charge and discharge time, and parasitic power required for operation. The maximum national energy conservation potential of the cement plant application with TES is 15.4 million barrels of oil or 3.9 million tons of coal per year. For the electric arc furnance application the maximum national conservation potential with TES is 4.5 million barrels of oil or 1.1 million tons of coal per year. Present time of day utility rates are near the breakeven point required for the TES system. Escalation of on-peak energy due to critical fuel shortages could make the FBHX/TES applications economically attractive in the future.

This fact sheet describes how the CTTS thermal comfort project will increase energy security by reducing fuel consumed by auxiliary loads such as air conditioning. It also describes physiological and psychological computer models and thermal comfort manikin.

While nuclear imaging techniques (Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Computed Tomography, and Positron Emission Tomography) have proven effective for diagnosis and treatment of disease in the human body, fluorescence-enhanced optical imaging offers additional benefits. Fluorescent imaging provides high resolution with real-time response, persistent lifetime (hours to days), cell targeting, and transdermal penetration with minimal physical encumbrance. Malignant cells can be targeted by absorbance of exogenous fluorescent nanoprobe contrast agents. Imaging is improved by fluorescent enhancement, especially by energy transfer between attached dyes. Also for use against cancer are heat-active treatments, such as hyperthermal, photothermal, and chemothermal therapies. Helpful to these treatments is the thermal response from nanoprobes, within human cells, which provide real-time feedback. The present study investigates the design and feasibility of a nanoprobe molecular device, absorbable into malignant human cells, which provides real-time tracking and thermal response, as indicated by enhanced fluorescence by energy transfer. A poly(propargyl acrylate) colloidal suspension was synthesized. The particles were modified with a triblock copolymer, previously shown to be thermally responsive, and an end-attached fluorescent dye. A second dye was modeled for attachment in subsequent work. When two fluorescent dyes are brought within sufficiently close proximity, and excitation light is supplied, energy can be transferred between dyes to give enhanced fluorescence with a large Stokes shift (increase in wavelength between excitation and emission). The dye pair was modeled for overlap of emission and absorbance wavelengths, and energy transfer was demonstrated with 23% efficiency and a 209 nm Stokes shift. The quantum yield of the donor dye was determined at 70%, and the distance for 50% energy transfer was calculated at 2.9 nm, consistent with reports for similar compounds. When

In this study the thermal degradation of gratings inscribed in three types of fiber namely, PS 1250/1500, SM 1500 and zero water peak single mode fiber is demonstrated. A comparative investigation is carried out on the aging characteristics of the gratings at three different temperature ramping rates of 3 °C/min, 6 °C/min and 9 °C/min. During the thermal annealing treatment, a significant enhancement in the grating reflectivity is observed for PS 1250/1500 fiber from ∼1.2 eV until 1.4 eV which indicates a thermal induced reversible effect. Higher temperature ramping rates lead to a higher regeneration temperature. In addition, the investigation also reflects that regardless of the temperature ramping rate the thermal decay behavior of a specific fiber can be successfully characterized when represented in a demarcation energy domain. Moreover, this technique can be accommodated when predicting the thermal decay characteristics of a specific fiber.

This paper reported on the preparation of a novel stearic acid (SA)/wollastonite (W) composite as a form-stable phase change material (PCM) for thermalenergy-storage (TES) by vacuum impregnation, and especially investigated the effect of the size grade of W on the thermal properties of the SA/W composite. Samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser particle-size analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Natural W (Wr) was classified into four size grades by wet screening. The results indicate that no chemical reaction took place between SA and W, and the SA load in the SA/W composite increased with an increase in the length/diameter (L/D) ratio of the W. The SA/W composite with a W L/D ratio of 22.5 exhibited latent heats of melting and freezing of 58.64 J/g and 56.95 J/g, respectively, which was higher than those of the composite incorporating natural W. We believe that the as-prepared form-stable PCM composite could provide a potential means of TES for the concentrated solar power.

In aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES) systems, large amounts of energy can be stored by injecting hot water into deep or intermediate aquifers. In a seasonal production-injection cycle, water is circulated through a system comprising the porous aquifer, a production well, a heat exchanger and an injection well. This process involves large temperature and pressure differences, which shift chemical equilibria and introduce or amplify mechanical processes. Rock-fluid interaction such as dissolution and precipitation or migration and deposition of fine particles will affect the hydraulic properties of the porous medium and may lead to irreversible formation damage. In consequence, these processes determine the long-term performance of the ATES system and need to be predicted to ensure the reliability of the system. However, high temperature and pressure gradients and dynamic feedback cycles pose challenges on predicting the influence of the relevant processes. Within this study, a reservoir model comprising a coupled hydraulic-thermal-chemical simulation was developed based on an ATES demonstration project located in the city of Berlin, Germany. The structural model was created with Petrel, based on data available from seismic cross-sections and wellbores. The reservoir simulation was realized by combining the capabilities of multiple simulation tools. For the reactive transport model, COMSOL Multiphysics (hydraulic-thermal) and PHREEQC (chemical) were combined using the novel interface COMSOL_PHREEQC, developed by Wissmeier & Barry (2011). It provides a MATLAB-based coupling interface between both programs. Compared to using COMSOL's built-in reactive transport simulator, PHREEQC additionally calculates adsorption and reaction kinetics and allows the selection of different activity coefficient models in the database. The presented simulation tool will be able to predict the most important aspects of hydraulic, thermal and chemical transport processes relevant to

The encapsulation of phase change materials (PCMs) into the micropores of an ordered polymer film was investigated. Paraffin wax and high density polyethylene wax were infiltrated successfully into extruded films of the ordered polymer PBZT by a solvent exchange technique to yield microcomposites with PCM levels on the order of 40 volume percent. These microcomposite films exhibit excellent mechanical stability under cyclic freeze-thaw conditions. However, their thermalenergy storage capacities, as characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, decrease significantly following freeze-thaw cycling. It appears that the ultrastructure of the PBZT and the thinness of the film (which results in high cooling rates during freeze-thaw cycling) promote the retention of the amorphous form of the PCM rather than the crystalline form. Since the amorphous form of the PCM does not contribute to the latent heat of fusion, the heat storage capacity of the microcomposite is reduced.

The control of a photovoltaic/thermalenergy (PV/T) system in general and optimization of performance in particular through use of modern (state space) control methods, stochastic weather inputs, and second law of thermodynamics analysis is addressed. Significant improvement in system performance is noted using optimal control when compared to conventional on/off, multilevel, or proportional controllers for deterministic weather forcing functions. Optimal system control, analyzed first through use of Pontryagin's Minimum Principle and then implemented by specification of a quadratic performance index and solution of matrix Riccati equations, is shown to be a viable and useful strategy for these hybrid systems. Stochastic weather techniques which incorporate temperature/insolation probability density matrices and least square constants are found to be a valid method for reducing simulation requirements as long as weather persistence effects are taken into account through use of information derived from Markov transition matrices.

The post-test evaluation of a single heat exchanger sodium hydroxide thermalenergy storage module for use in solar electric generation is reported. Chemical analyses of the storage medium used in the experimental model are presented. The experimental verification of the module performance using an alternate heat transfer fluid, Caloria HT-43, is described. Based on these results, a design analysis of a dual heat exchanger concept within the storage module is presented. A computer model and a reference design for the dual system (storage working fluid/power cycle working fluid) were completed. The dual system is estimated to have a capital cost of approximately one half that of the single heat exchanger concept.

Thermalenergy storage (TES) enables a solar dynamic system to deliver constant electric power through periods of sun and shade. Brayton and Stirling power systems under current considerations for missions in the near future require working fluid temperatures in the 1100 to 1300+ K range. TES materials that meet these requirements fall into the fluoride family of salts. Salts shrink as they solidify, a change reaching 30 percent for some salts. Hot spots can develop in the TES container or the container can become distorted if the melting salt cannot expand elsewhere. Analysis of the transient, two-phase phenomenon is being incorporated into a three-dimensional computer code. The objective of the flight program is to verify the predictions of the code, particularly of the void location and its effect on containment temperature. The four experimental packages comprising the program will be the first tests of melting and freezing conducted under microgravity.

In aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES) installations, ground water is circulated between an aquifer and heat exchangers via a well field. It is often necessary to soften the water to prevent carbonate scaling in pipes, heat exchangers, and well screens. Most ATES projects requiring water softening will be best served by using synthetic ion-exchange resins. The size of the resin beds, the resin regeneration cycle, and the amount of NaCl brine used in each regeneration depend on several factors. These are (1) the chemistry of the native ground water, (2) allowable residual hardness after softening, (3) the maximum flow rate of water through the ATES plant, and (4) exchange characteristics of the resin. Example calculations are given for a three-bed water softening system.

The design and installation of thermalenergy storage in active solar systems is discussed. Both air based and liquid based systems are covered with topics on designing rock beds, tank types, pump and fan selection, installation, costs, and operation and maintenance. Topics relevant to latent heat storage include properties of phase change materials, sizing the storage unit, insulating the storage unit, available systems, and cost. Topics relevant to heating domestic water include safety, single-, and dual-tank systems, domestic water heating with air and liquid based space heating systems, and stand alone domestics hot water systems. Also examined are common problems with storage systems and their solutions, heat transfer fluid properties, economic insulation thickness, heat exchanger sizing, and sample specifications for heat exchangers, wooden rock bins, steel tanks, concrete tanks, and fiberglass reinforced plastic tanks.

The goal of this study is to examine various energy resources in district energy (DE) systems and then DE system performance development by means of multiple thermalenergy storages (TES) application. This study sheds light on areas not yet investigated precisely in detail. Throughout the research, major components of the heat plant, energy suppliers of the DE systems, and TES characteristics are separately examined; integration of various configurations of the multiple TESs in the DE system is then analysed. In the first part of the study, various sources of energy are compared, in a consistent manner, financially and environmentally. The TES performance is then assessed from various aspects. Then, TES(s) and DE systems with several sources of energy are integrated, and are investigated as a heat process centre. The most efficient configurations of the multiple TESs integrated with the DE system are investigated. Some of the findings of this study are applied on an actual DE system. The outcomes of this study provide insight for researchers and engineers who work in this field, as well as policy makers and project managers who are decision-makers. The accomplishments of the study are original developments TESs and DE systems. As an original development the Enviro-Economic Function, to balance the economic and environmental aspects of energy resources technologies in DE systems, is developed; various configurations of multiple TESs, including series, parallel, and general grid, are developed. The developed related functions are discharge temperature and energy of the TES, and energy and exergy efficiencies of the TES. The TES charging and discharging behavior of TES instantaneously is also investigated to obtain the charging temperature, the maximum charging temperature, the charging energy flow, maximum heat flow capacity, the discharging temperature, the minimum charging temperature, the discharging energy flow, the maximum heat flow capacity, and performance

The investigation of thermal, mechanical and magnetic behaviors of the Cu-11%Al, Cu-11%Al-3%Ag, Cu-11%Al-10%Mn and Cu-11%Al-10%Mn-3%Ag alloys was made using microhardness measurements, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy and magnetic moment change with applied field measurement. The results indicated that the Mn addition changes the phase stability range, the microhardness values and makes undetectable the eutectoid reaction in annealed Cu-11%Al and Cu-11%Al-3%Ag alloys while the presence of Ag does not modify the phase transformation sequence neither microhardness values of the annealed Cu-11%Al and Cu-11%Al-10%Mn alloys, but it increases the magnetic moment of this latter at about 2.7 times and decreases the rates of eutectoid and peritectoid reactions of the former. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The microstructure of Cu-Al alloy is modified in the Ag presence. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer ({alpha} + {gamma}) phase is stabilized down to room temperature when Ag is added to Cu-Al alloy. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ag-rich phase modifies the magnetic characteristics of Cu-Al-Mn alloy.

The fluidized bed technique was used to measure the relative thermal fatigue resistance of twenty-one superalloys. Among the thirty-six variations of composition, solidification method, and surface protection the cycles to cracking differed by two to three orders of magnitude. Some alloys suffered serious weight losses and oxidation. Thermal fatigue data, oxidation, and dimensional changes are reported. The types of superalloys are identified.

There currently is an increasing need for both potable water and power for many islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. The Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) technology fills these needs and is a viable option because of the unlimited supply of ocean thermalenergy for the production of both desalinated water and electricity. The OTEC plant design must be flexible to meet the product-mix demands that can be very different from site to site. This paper describes different OTEC plants that can supply various mixes of desalinated water and vapor -- the extremes being either all water and no power or no water and all power. The economics for these plants are also presented. The same flow rates and pipe sizes for both the warm and cold seawater streams are used for different plant designs. The OTEC plant designs are characterized as near-term because no major technical issues need to be resolved or demonstrated. The plant concepts are based on DOE-sponsored experiments dealing with power systems, advanced heat exchanger designs, corrosion and fouling of heat exchange surfaces, and flash evaporation and moisture removal from the vapor using multiple spouts. In addition, the mature multistage flash evaporator technology is incorporated into the plant designs were appropriate. For the supply and discharge warm and cold uncertainties do exist because the required pipe sizes are larger than the maximum currently deployed -- 40-inch high-density polyethylene pipe at Keahole Point in Hawaii. 30 refs., 6 figs., 8 tabs.

The Blue Energy is the one of renewable energy. Indonesia as a maritime country has many potention to implement this Blue energy, but it still an advance technology to convert this energy into the electricity. The concept of OTEC with Land Based System is to boost the cost effectiveness of ocean technology. OTEC Land based system which is integrated with the cooling system, water desalination systems, aquaculture, and agriculture. Geographically Halmahera district is located in the Eastern Province of North Maluku. Halmahera is the one of remote island in Indonesia that still lack of electricity. By processing the Argo Float data in 2013-2015 using ODV (Ocean Data View) software, shows the difference of ocean temperature in Halmahera sea surface the range is 29°C. In depth of 1000 m, the sea temperature ranging from 2°C. The Electrical potential of OTEC a long 55 km Halmahera beach are around 93,1% as potential source of OTEC technology. The electricity OTEC prediction is 5,12 MW. Capacity factor of OTEC is 0.857, means that Halmahera have electrical potential for applying OTEC for each year is 35,88 GWh/year.

Solar thermophotovoltaic devices have the potential to enhance the performance of solar energy harvesting by converting broadband sunlight to narrow-band thermal radiation tuned for a photovoltaic cell. A direct comparison of the operation of a photovoltaic with and without a spectral converter is the most critical indicator of the promise of this technology. Here, we demonstrate enhanced device performance through the suppression of 80% of unconvertible photons by pairing a one-dimensional photonic crystal selective emitter with a tandem plasma-interference optical filter. We measured a solar-to-electrical conversion rate of 6.8%, exceeding the performance of the photovoltaic cell alone. The device operates more efficiently while reducing the heat generation rates in the photovoltaic cell by a factor of two at matching output power densities. We determined the theoretical limits, and discuss the implications of surpassing the Shockley-Queisser limit. Improving the performance of an unaltered photovoltaic cell provides an important framework for the design of high-efficiency solar energy converters.

The environmental research effort in support of the US Department of Energy's Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) program has the goal of providing documented information on the effect of proposed operations on the ocean and the effect of oceanic conditions on the plant. The associated environment program consists of archival studies in potential areas serial oceanographic cruises to sites or regions of interest, studies from various fixed platforms at sites, and compilation of such information for appropriate legal compliance and permit requirements and for use in progressive design of OTEC plants. Site/regions investigated are south of Mobile and west of Tampa, Gulf of Mexico; Punta Tuna, Puerto Rico; St. Croix, Virgin Islands; Kahe Point, Oahu and Keahole Point, Hawaii, Hawaiian Islands; and off the Brazilian south Equatorial Coast. Four classes of environmental concerns identified are: redistribution of oceanic properties (ocean water mixing, impingement/entrainment etc.); chemical pollution (biocides, working fluid leaks, etc.); structural effects (artificial reef, aggregation, nesting/migration, etc.); socio-legal-economic (worker safety, enviromaritime law, etc.).

The purpose of this manual is to provide information on the design and installation of thermalenergy storage in active solar systems. It is intended for contractors, installers, solar system designers, engineers, architects, and manufacturers who intend to enter the solar energy business. The reader should have general knowledge of how solar heating and cooling systems operate and knowledge of construction methods and building codes. Knowledge of solar analysis methods such as f-Chart, SOLCOST, DOE-1, or TRNSYS would be helpful. The information contained in the manual includes sizing storage, choosing a location for the storage device, and insulation requirements. Both air-based and liquid-based systems are covered with topics on designing rock beds, tank types, pump and fan selection, installation, costs, and operation and maintenance. Topics relevant to latent heat storage include properties of phase-change materials, sizing the storage unit, insulating the storage unit, available systems, and cost. Topics relevant to heating domestic water include safety, single- and dual-tank systems, domestic water heating with air- and liquid-based space heating systems, and stand alone domestics hot water systems. Several appendices present common problems with storage systems and their solutions, heat transfer fluid properties, economic insulation thickness, heat exchanger sizing, and sample specifications for heat exchangers, wooden rock bins, steel tanks, concrete tanks, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic tanks.

In 1881, d'Arsonval conceived the closed-Rankine-cycle ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) system in which a working fluid is vaporized by heat exchange with cold water drawn from a 700-1200 m depth. In 1930, Claude demonstrated an open-cycle process in Cuba. Surface water was flash-vaporized at 3 kPa to drive a turbine directly (no secondary working fluid) and then was condensed by direct contact with water drawn from a 700-m depth through a 1.6m-diam, 1.75-km-long cold-water pipe (CWP). From a delta T of 14/sup 0/C his undersized turbine generated 22 kW. In 1956 a French team designed a 3.5-MW (net) open-cycle plant for installation off Abidjan on the Ivory Coast of Africa and demonstrated the necessary CWP deployment. The at-sea demonstrations by Mini-OTEC and OTEC-1 and other recent advances in OTEC technology summarized herein represent great progress. All of the types of plants proposed for the DOE's PON program may be worthy of development; certainly work on a grazing plant is needed. Our estimates indicate that the U.S. goals established by Public Law 96-310 leading to 10 GW of OTEC power and energy product equivalents by 1999 are achievable, provided that adequate federal financial incentives are retained to assure the building of the first few plants.

The results of theoretical and experimental studies of thermal stratification in liquid energy storage tanks for the performance of solar energy systems are presented. The investigation was divided into three areas: (1) Justification of the Importance of Thermal Stratification Inside the Energy Storage Tanks, (II) Development of a Simple Mathematical Model which is Compatible with Existing Solar Energy System Simulation Code, and (III) Validation of Mathematical Models by Experimental Data Obtained from Realistic Solar Energy System Operations.

The leaching of Sb from waste-to-energy (WtE) bottom ash (BA) often exceeds the Dutch limit value of 0.32mgkg(-1) for recycling of BA in open construction applications. From the immobilization mechanisms described in the literature, it could be concluded that both Ca and Fe play an important role in the immobilization of Sb in WtE BA. Therefore, Ca and Fe containing compounds were added to the samples of the sand fraction of WtE BA, which in contrast to the granulate fraction is not recyclable to date, and the effect on the Sb leaching was studied by means of batch leaching tests. Results showed that addition of 0.5 and 2.5% CaO, 5% CaCl2, 2.5% Fe2(SO4)3 and 1% FeCl3 decreased the Sb leaching from 0.62±0.02mgkgDM(-1) to 0.20±0.02, 0.083±0.044, 0.25±0.01, 0.27±0.002 and 0.29±0.02mgkgDM(-1), respectively. Due to the increase in pH from 11.41 to 12.53 when 2.5% CaO was added, Pb and Zn leaching increased and exceeded the respective leaching limits. Addition of 5% CaCO3 had almost no effect on the Sb leaching, as evidenced by the resulting 0.53mgkgDM(-1) leaching concentration. This paper shows a complementary enhancement of the effect of Ca and Fe, by comparing the aforementioned Sb leaching results with those of WtE BA with combined addition of 2.5% CaO or 5% CaCl2 with 2.5% Fe2(SO4)3 or 1% FeCl3. These lab scale results suggest that formation of romeites with a high Ca content and formation of iron antimonate (tripuhyite) with a very low solubility are the main immobilization mechanisms of Sb in WtE BA. Besides the pure compounds and their mixtures, also addition of 10% of two Ca and Fe containing residues of the steel industry, hereafter referred to as R1 and R2, was effective in decreasing the Sb leaching from WtE BA below the Dutch limit value for reuse in open construction applications. To evaluate the long term effect of the additives, pilot plots of WtE BA with 10% of R1 and 5% and 10% of R2 were built and samples were submitted to leaching tests at

A comparative technique based on photothermal radiometry has been developed to measure thermal diffusivity of semi-infinite targets with arbitrary geometry. The technique exploits the principle that the frequency response of the temperature modulation induced by a periodic modulated heating source (in this case a laser spot) scales with thermal diffusivity. To demonstrate this technique, a photothermal radiometer has been developed, which detects modulated thermal radiance at a wavelength of 2 μm due to a small temperature modulation induced on the target surface by a modulated erbium fiber laser of power 1 W. Two frequency responses were measured for platinum and oxidized Inconel 600 targets (the frequency response is a scan of the amplitude of the modulated thermal radiance over laser modulation frequency). Scaling the two responses with respect to frequency gives a ratio of thermal diffusivities Dplatinum/DInconel of 4.45(33) which compares with a literature value of 4.46(50). The aim is to combine this technique with laser absorption radiation thermometry to produce multithermal property instrument for measuring "industrial" targets.

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are solid-state devices that convert heat directly into electricity. They are well suited for waste-heat energy harvesting applications as opposed to primary energy generation. Commercially available thermoelectric modules are flat, inflexible and have limited sizes available. State-of-art manufacturing of TEG devices relies on assembling prefabricated parts with soldering, epoxy bonding, and mechanical clamping. Furthermore, efforts to incorporate them onto curved surfaces such as exhaust pipes, pump housings, steam lines, mixing containers, reaction chambers, etc. require custom-built heat exchangers. This is costly and labor-intensive, in addition to presenting challenges in terms of space, thermal coupling, added weight and long-term reliability. Additive manufacturing technologies are beginning to address many of these issues by reducing part count in complex designs and the elimination of sub-assembly requirements. This work investigates the feasibility of utilizing such novel manufacturing routes for improving the manufacturing process of thermoelectric devices. Much of the research in thermoelectricity is primarily focused on improving thermoelectric material properties by developing of novel materials or finding ways to improve existing ones. Secondary to material development is improving the manufacturing process of TEGs to provide significant cost benefits. To improve the device fabrication process, this work explores additive manufacturing technologies to provide an integrated and scalable approach for TE device manufacturing directly onto engineering component surfaces. Additive manufacturing techniques like thermal spray and ink-dispenser printing are developed with the aim of improving the manufacturing process of TEGs. Subtractive manufacturing techniques like laser micromachining are also studied in detail. This includes the laser processing parameters for cutting the thermal spray materials efficiently by

Polyurethane (PU) is an important class of polymers that have wide application in a number of different industrial sectors. The goal of this work was the synthesis of flame-retarded PU foam with expandable graphite (EG) or commercial graphene. The flame retardancy and thermal stability of the foams has been studied through cone calorimeter analysis, the limited oxygen index and thermal conductivity. The presence of expandable graphite brings an improvement in fire behavior. In particular, the limited oxygen index increases in a linear way and the highest limited oxygen index values are obtained for EG-PU foams. The results from the cone calorimeter are in agreement with those of oxygen index; EG filled foams show a considerable decrease of maximum-heat release rate (M-HRR) with respect to unfilled foams. The results of thermal conductivity show that an increase in expandable graphite amount in PU foams lead to an increased conductivity.

The potential of a suitably designed and economically manufactured Stirling engine as the energy conversion subsystem of a paraboloidal dish-Stirling solar thermal power module was estimated. Results obtained by elementary cycle analyses were shown to match quite well the performance characteristics of an advanced kinematic Stirling engine, the United Stirling P-40, as established by current prototypes of the engine and by a more sophisticated analytic model of its advanced derivative. In addition to performance, brief consideration was given to other Stirling engine criteria such as durability, reliability, and serviceability. Production costs were not considered here.

Key components of open-cycle ocean thermalenergy conversion systems- the flash evaporator, mist eliminator, passive predeaerator, two surface condenser stages, and two direct-contact condenser stages- have been tested using seawater. These components operate at lower steam pressures and higher inlet noncondensable gas concentrations than do conventional power plant heat exchangers. The rate of heat exchanged between the evaporator and the condenser is on the order of 1.25MW-thermal, requiring a warm seawater flow of about 0.1 cu m/s; the cold seawater flow is on the order of half the warm water flow. In addition to characterizing the performance of the various components, the system has produced potable water from condensation of the steam produced in the evaporator. The information obtained in these tests is being used to design a larger scale experiment in which net power production is expected to be demonstrate for the first time using OC-OTEC technology.

Seasonal thermalenergy storage in borehole heat exchanger arrays is a promising technology to reduce primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. These systems usually consist of several subsystems like the heat source (e.g. solarthermics or a combined heat and power plant), the heat consumer (e.g. a heating system), diurnal storages (i.e. water tanks), the borehole thermalenergy storage, additional heat sources for peak load coverage (e.g. a heat pump or a gas boiler) and the distribution network. For the design of an integrated system, numerical simulations of all subsystems are imperative. A separate simulation of the borehole energy storage is well-established but represents a simplification. In reality, the subsystems interact with each other. The fluid temperatures of the heat generation system, the heating system and the underground storage are interdependent and affect the performance of each subsystem. To take into account these interdependencies, we coupled a software for the simulation of the above ground facilities with a finite element software for the modeling of the heat flow in the subsurface and the borehole heat exchangers. This allows for a more realistic view on the entire system. Consequently, a finer adjustment of the system components and a more precise prognosis of the system's performance can be ensured.

The knowledge of the nuclear symmetry energy of hot neutron-rich matter is important for understanding the dynamical evolution of massive stars and the supernova explosion mechanisms. In particular, the electron capture rate on nuclei and/or free protons in presupernova explosions is especially sensitive to the symmetry energy at finite temperature. In view of the above, in the present work we calculate the symmetry energy as a function of the temperature for various values of the baryon density by applying a momentum-dependent effective interaction. In addition to a previous work, the thermal effects are studied separately both in the kinetic part and the interaction part of the symmetry energy. We focus also on the calculations of the mean-field potential, employed extensively in heavy-ion reaction research, both for nuclear and pure neutron matter. The proton fraction and the electron chemical potential, which are crucial quantities for representing the thermal evolution of supernova and neutron stars, are calculated for various values of the temperature. Finally, we construct a temperature dependent equation of state of {beta}-stable nuclear matter, the basic ingredient for the evaluation of the neutron star properties.

The commercial nuclear power industry is investing heavily in advanced fuels that can produce higher power levels with a higher safety margin and be produced at low cost. Although chemically stable and inexpensive to manufacture, the in-core performance of UO{sub 2} fuel is limited by its low thermal conductivity. There will be enormous financial benefits to any utility that can exploit a new type of fuel that is chemically stable, has a high thermal conductivity, and is inexpensive to manufacture. At reactor operating temperatures, UO{sub 2} has a very low thermal conductivity (<5 W/m {center_dot}K), which decreases with temperature and fuel burnup. This low thermal conductivity limits the rate at which energy can be removed from the fuel, thus limiting the total integrated reactor power. If the fuel thermal conductivity could be increased, nuclear reactors would be able to operate at higher powers and larger safety margins thus decreasing the overall cost of electricity by increasing the power output from existing reactors and decreasing the number of new electrical generating plants needed to meet base load demand. The objective of the work defined herein is to produce an advanced nuclear fuel based on the current UO{sub 2} fuel with superior thermal conductivity and structural integrity that is suitable for current and future nuclear reactors, using the existing fuel fabrication infrastructure with minimal modifications. There are two separate components to the research: (1) Enhanced Thermal Conductivity (ETC) - adding high conductivity fibers to the UO{sub 2} prior to sintering, which act as conduits for moving the heat energy generated within the pellet to the outer surface, (2) Microstructural Engineering (ME) - adding second phase particulates to UO{sub 2} bodies to retard grain growth and to increase thermal conductivity, as well as improve fracture and creep resistance. Different groups will perform the laboratory work for each of these research

Sizing procedures are presented for latent heat thermalenergy storage systems that can be used for electric utility off-peak energy storage, solar power plants and other preliminary design applications.

The leading-order (i.e., dipole-dipole) dispersion energy is calculated for one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) infinite lattices, and an infinite 1D array of infinitely long lines, of doubly occupied locally harmonic wells. The dispersion energy is decomposed into pairwise and non-pairwise additive components. By varying the force constant and separation of the wells, the non-pairwise additive contribution to the dispersion energy is shown to depend on the overlap of density between neighboring wells. As well separation is increased, the non-pairwise additivity of the dispersion energy decays. The different rates of decay for 1D and 2D lattices of wells is explained in terms of a Jacobian effect that influences the number of nearest neighbors. For an array of infinitely long lines of wells spaced 5 bohrs apart, and an inter-well spacing of 3 bohrs within a line, the non-pairwise additive component of the leading-order dispersion energy is -0.11 kJ mol(-1) well(-1), which is 7% of the total. The polarizability of the wells and the density overlap between them are small in comparison to that of the atomic densities that arise from the molecular density partitioning used in post-density-functional theory (DFT) damped dispersion corrections, or DFT-D methods. Therefore, the nonadditivity of the leading-order dispersion observed here is a conservative estimate of that in molecular clusters.

Ground-water quality and associated geologic characteristics may affect the feasibility of aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES) system development in any hydrologic region. This study sought to determine the relationship between ground-water quality parameters and the regional potential for ATES system development. Information was collected from available literature to identify chemical and physical mechanisms that could adversely affect an ATES system. Appropriate beneficiation techniques to counter these potential geochemical and lithologic problems were also identified through the literature search. Regional hydrology summaries and other sources were used in reviewing aquifers of 19 drainage regions in the US to determine generic geochemical characteristics for analysis. Numerical modeling techniques were used to perform geochemical analyses of water quality from 67 selected aquifers. Candidate water resources regions were then identified for exploration and development of ATES. This study identified six principal mechanisms by which ATES reservoir permeability may be impaired: (1) particulate plugging, (2) chemical precipitation, (3) liquid-solid reactions, (4) formation disaggregation, (5) oxidation reactions, and (6) biological activity. Specific proven countermeasures to reduce or eliminate these effects were found. Of the hydrologic regions reviewed, 10 were identified as having the characteristics necessary for ATES development: (1) Mid-Atlantic, (2) South-Atlantic Gulf, (3) Ohio, (4) Upper Mississippi, (5) Lower Mississippi, (6) Souris-Red-Rainy, (7) Missouri Basin, (8) Arkansas-White-Red, (9) Texas-Gulf, and (10) California.

The programmatic environmental analysis is an initial assessment of Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) technology considering development, demonstration and commercialization. It is concluded that the OTEC development program should continue because the development, demonstration, and commercialization on a single-plant deployment basis should not present significant environmental impacts. However, several areas within the OTEC program require further investigation in order to assess the potential for environmental impacts from OTEC operation, particularly in large-scale deployments and in defining alternatives to closed-cycle biofouling control: (1) Larger-scale deployments of OTEC clusters or parks require further investigations in order to assess optimal platform siting distances necessary to minimize adverse environmental impacts. (2) The deployment and operation of the preoperational platform (OTEC-1) and future demonstration platforms must be carefully monitored to refine environmental assessment predictions, and to provide design modifications which may mitigate or reduce environmental impacts for larger-scale operations. These platforms will provide a valuable opportunity to fully evaluate the intake and discharge configurations, biofouling control methods, and both short-term and long-term environmental effects associated with platform operations. (3) Successful development of OTEC technology to use the maximal resource capabilities and to minimize environmental effects will require a concerted environmental management program, encompassing many different disciplines and environmental specialties. This volume contains these appendices: Appendix A -- Deployment Scenario; Appendix B -- OTEC Regional Characterization; and Appendix C -- Impact and Related Calculations.

This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, for the deployment and operation of a commercial 40-Megawatt (MW) Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) Pilot Plant (hereafter called the Pilot Plant). A description of the proposed action is presented, and a generic environment typical of the candidate Pilot Plant siting regions is described. An assessment of the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed action is given, and the risk of credible accidents and mitigating measures to reduce these risks are considered. The Federal and State plans and policies the proposed action will encompass are described. Alternatives to the proposed action are presented. Appendix A presents the navigation and environmental information contained in the US Coast Pilot for each of the candidate sites; Appendix B provides a brief description of the methods and calculations used in the EA. It is concluded that environmental disturbances associated with Pilot Plant activities could potentially cause significant environmental impacts; however, the magnitude of these potential impacts cannot presently be assessed, due to insufficient engineering and environmental information. A site- and design-specific OTEC Pilot Plant Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required to resolve the potentially significant environmental effects associated with Pilot Plant deployment and operation. (WHK)

This paper describes an Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) desalination plant that consists of a multistage flash evaporator (MSF), a closed-cycle OTEC power plant, and an appropriate seawater system depending if the desalination plant is land based or floating. OTEC desalination plants of this type are preferred because the production of desalinated water far exceeds that obtained from other OTEC plant types employing the same size seawater system. The focus of the paper is on the multistage flash evaporator. The similarities and differences between conventional MSF and OTEC multistage flash evaporators (OTEC-MSF) are first described. Then the details of the OTEC-MSF evaporator design are discussed and preliminary correlations are recommended for the three major elements: the flash chamber, the moisture removal device, and the condenser. Recent advances such as enhanced condenser tubes, condensers of the compact type, and corrugated-plate moisture separators are introduced into the design. Comparisons of the water production capability, evaporator shell volume, and material cost are then presented for state-of-the-art and the new design concepts.

This paper describes an Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion (OTEC) desalination plant that consists of a multistage flash evaporator (MSF), a closed-cycle OTEC power plant, and an appropriate seawater system depending if the desalination plant is land based or floating. OTEC desalination plants of this type are preferred because the production of desalinated water far exceeds that obtained from other OTEC plant types employing the same size seawater system. The focus of the paper is on the multistage flash evaporator. The similarities and differences between conventional MSF and OTEC multistage flash evaporators (OTEC-MSF) are first described. Then the details of the OTEC-MSF evaporator design are discussed and preliminary correlations are recommended for the three major elements: the flash chamber, the moisture removal device, and the condenser. Recent advances such as enhanced condenser tubes, condensers of the compact type, and corrugated-plate moisture separators are introduced into the design. Comparisons of the water production capability, evaporator shell volume, and material cost are then presented for state-of-the-art and the new design concepts. 20 refs., 11 figs., 5 tabs.

Scientists at the Naval Coastal Systems Center (NCSC) at Panama City, Florida, have used a commercially available acoustic flowmeter to monitor critical flow conditions during an OTEC (Ocean ThermalEnergy Conversion) funded study of the effects of biofouling on the efficiency of a prototype heat transfer system. Flowmeters of this type are particularly useful in applications requiring unimpeded flow; i.e., no sensor projecting into the moving fluid. Unfortunately, sonic flowmeters are somewhat difficult to calibrate and may be subject to drift. A method of calibration devised by NCSC may thus be of some interest to other users. It is the purpose of this report to document the special procedures used by test personnel to calibrate the flowmeters. Briefly, the calibration consisted of pumping sea water through the flowmeter into a tank suspended beneath a special load cell which provided an output voltage proportional to the weight of water in the tank. A programmable desktop calculator system was used to monitor changes in voltage as a function of time and convert these changes into flow rates for direct comparison with values read from the sonic flowmeter's digital display. Calibration checks were made at metered flows of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 gallons per minute (gpm). It was found that computed flows were essentially linear but differed from metered values by as much as 9.0 percent.

The DC Conductivity and Differential Thermal Analysis of glasses with composition (30−x)Li{sub 2}O⋅xV{sub 2}O{sub 5}⋅20Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3}⋅50B{sub 2}O{sub 3}(x=15, 10, 5) has been carried out in order to study the effect of replacing the Transition Metal Oxide (TMO) with alkali oxide. A significant increase in the DC conductivity has been observed with increase in alkali content. Again the thermal measurements have shown the decrease in both glass transition temperature (T{sub g}) and crystallization temperature (T{sub x}). The Glass Stability (GS) and Glass Forming Ability (GFA) have also been calculated and these also were found to decrease with increase in alkali oxide content at the cost of TMO.

This study investigates the collagen influence on thermal and morphological characteristics of chitosan/xanthan hydrogels for potential tissue engineering applications. Anionic collagen was prepared by selective hydrolysis of type I collagen found in bovine tendons. Chitosan was obtained from the partial deacetylation of squid pen β-chitin and xanthan was acquired from Fluka. The hydrogels were obtained in different ratios and were characterized by thermal and morphological analysis. FT-IR suggested only electrostatic interactions between NH3(+) groups of chitosan and COO(-) groups of xanthan and collagen. Thermogravimetric curves showed that hydrogels contain a great amount of water (above 98%) and the presence of collagen does not change this characteristic. Freezing-bound water transition in DSC curves was shifted to higher values due to the increase of water/polymer interaction, mainly when different ratios of chitosan and xanthan were used. SEM images showed sheet-form structures with the presence of collagen promoting an increase in pore size.

Thermal adaptation predicts that thermal sensitivity of physiological traits should be optimized to thermal conditions most frequently experienced. Furthermore, thermodynamic constraints predict that species with higher thermal optima should have higher performance maxima and narrower performance breadths. We tested these predictions by examining the thermal sensitivity of energy assimilation between populations within two species of terrestrial-lungless salamanders, Plethodon albagula and P. montanus. Within P. albagula, we examined populations that were latitudinally separated by >450km. Within P. montanus, we examined populations that were elevationally separated by >900m. Thermal sensitivity of energy assimilation varied substantially between populations of P. albagula separated latitudinally, but did not vary between populations of P. montanus separated elevationally. Specifically, in P. albagula, the lower latitude population had a higher thermal optimum, higher maximal performance, and narrower performance breadth compared to the higher latitude population. Furthermore, across all individuals as thermal optima increased, performance maxima also increased, providing support for the theory that "hotter is better".

Safety is one of the most critical issues facing lithium-ion battery application in vehicles. Addressing this issue requires the integration of several aspects, especially the material chemistry and the battery thermal management. First, thermal stability investigation was carried out on an attractive high energy density material LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4. New findings on the thermal-stability and thermal-decomposition-pathways related to the oxygen-release are discovered for the high-voltage spinel Li xNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) with ordered (o-) and disordered (d-) structures at fully delithiated (charged) state using a combination of in situ time-resolved x-ray diffraction (TR-XRD) coupled with mass spectroscopy (MS) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Both fully charged o--LixNi0.5Mn1.5O 4 and d-LixNi0.5Mn1.5O 4 start oxygen-releasing structural changes at temperatures below 300 °C, which is in sharp contrast to the good thermal stability of the 4V-spinel LixMn2O4 with no oxygen being released up to 375 °C. This is mainly caused by the presence of Ni4+ in LNMO, which undergoes dramatic reduction during the thermal decomposition. In addition, charged o-LNMO shows better thermal stability than the d-LNMO counterpart, due to the Ni/Mn ordering and smaller amount of the rock-salt impurity phase in o-LNMO. Newly identified two thermal-decomposition-pathways from the initial LixNi0.5Mn1.5O 4 spinel to the final NiMn2O4-type spinel structure with and without the intermediate phases (NiMnO3 and alpha-Mn 2O3) are found to play key roles in thermal stability and oxygen release of LNMO during thermal decomposition. In addressing the safety issue associated with LNMO, Fe is selected to partially substitute Ni and Mn simultaneously utilizing the electrochemical activity and structure-stabilizing high spin Fe3+. The synthesized LiNi1/3Mn4/3Fe1/3O4 showed superior thermal stability and satisfactory electrochemical performance. At charged state, it is able to withstand the temperature as

A generally mushroom-shaped, open cycle OTEC system and distilled water producer which has a skirt-conduit structure extending from the enlarged portion of the mushroom to the ocean. The enlarged part of the mushroom houses a toroidal casing flash evaporator which produces steam which expands through a vertical rotor turbine, partially situated in the center of the blossom portion and partially situated in the mushroom's stem portion. Upon expansion through the turbine, the motive steam enters a shell and tube condenser annularly disposed about the rotor axis and axially situated beneath the turbine in the stem portion. Relatively warm ocean water is circulated up through the radially outer skirt-conduit structure entering the evaporator through a radially outer portion thereof, flashing a portion thereof into motive steam, and draining the unflashed portion from the evaporator through a radially inner skirt-conduit structure. Relatively cold cooling water enters the annular condenser through the radially inner edge and travels radially outwardly into a channel situated along the radially outer edge of the condenser. The channel is also included in the radially inner skirt-conduit structure. The cooling water is segregated from the potable, motive steam condensate which can be used for human consumption or other processes requiring high purity water. The expansion energy of the motive steam is partially converted into rotational mechanical energy of the turbine rotor when the steam is expanded through the shaft attached blades. Such mechanical energy drives a generator also included in the enlarged mushroom portion for producing electrical energy. Such power generation equipment arrangement provides a compact power system from which additional benefits may be obtained by fabricating the enclosing equipment, housings and component casings from low density materials, such as prestressed concrete, to permit those casings and housings to also function as a floating

Thermalenergy can be stored by the mechanism of sensible or latent heat or heat from chemical reactions. Sensible heat is the means of storing energy by increasing the temperature of the solid or liquid. Since the concrete as media cost per kWhthermal is $1, this seems to be a very economical material to be used as a TES. This research is focused on extending the concrete TES system for higher temperatures (500 °C to 600 °C) and increasing the heat transfer performance using novel construction techniques. To store heat at high temperature special concretes are developed and tested for its performance. The storage capacity costs of the developed concrete is in the range of $0.91-$3.02/kWhthermal. Two different storage methods are investigated. In the first one heat is transported using molten slat through a stainless steel tube and heat is transported into concrete block through diffusion. The cost of the system is higher than the targeted DOE goal of $15/kWhthermal. The increase in cost of the system is due to stainless steel tube to transfer the heat from molten salt to the concrete blocks.The other method is a one-tank thermocline system in which both the hot and cold fluid occupy the same tank resulting in reduced storage tank volume. In this model, heated molten salt enters the top of the tank which contains a packed bed of quartzite rock and silica sand as the thermalenergy storage (TES) medium. The single-tank storage system uses about half the salt that is required by the two-tank system for a required storage capacity. This amounts to a significant reduction in the cost of the storage system. The single tank alternative has also been proven to be cheaper than the option which uses large concrete modules with embedded heat exchangers. Using computer models optimum dimensions are determined to have an round trip efficiency of 84%. Additionally, the cost of the structured concrete thermocline configuration provides the TES

Test results on a modular simulation of the thermal transport and heat storage characteristics of a heat pipe solar receiver (HPSR) with thermalenergy storage (TES) are presented. The HPSR features a 15-25 kWe Stirling engine power conversion system at the focal point of a parabolic dish concentrator operating at 827 C. The system collects and retrieves solar heat with sodium pipes and stores the heat in NaF-MgF2 latent heat storage material. The trials were run with a single full scale heat pipe, three full scale TES containers, and an air-cooled heat extraction coil to replace the Stirling engine heat exchanger. Charging and discharging, constant temperature operation, mixed mode operation, thermal inertial, etc. were studied. The heat pipe performance was verified, as were the thermalenergy storage and discharge rates and isothermal discharges.

Mitigation of thermal stress and adverse indoor climatic conditions is important to older low-income populations whose age, health, and economic circumstances make them vulnerable to indoor environmental conditions. This research examines whether energy retrofits in affordable housing for older adults can also improve indoor climatic (i.e., temperature, humidity, air infiltration) conditions and whether such improvements correspond with improved health and comfort of residents. An apartment complex for low-income older adults in Phoenix was the study site. In 2010, renovations were undertaken to make it more energy efficient and to replace interior cabinetry, flooring, and paint with materials that had low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Fifty-seven residents from 53 apartment units participated in both baseline (pre-renovation) and 1 year post-renovation data collection trials. Environmental measures included temperature, relative humidity, and air infiltration. Health measures included general health, emotional distress, and sleep. Four questions addressed residents' perceptions of temperature quality. Results demonstrated a 19% reduction in energy consumption following the retrofit. In addition, fixed effects statistical models of the panel data showed significant stabilization of unit temperature from pre-retrofit to 1 year post-retrofit. Reductions in an apartment's temperature extremes of 27.2°C (81°F) and above also corresponded with improvement in occupant's reported health over the same time period, although not with occupant's perceptions of thermal comfort.

Here we introduce a novel small molecule based on dithienobenzodithiophene and rhodanine, DTBDT-Rho, developed to study the effect of the rhodanine substitutuent on small molecule bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. DTBDT-Rho possesses distinct crystalline characteristics, sufficient solubility in chlorinated solvents, and broad absorption properties. Therefore, solution-processed BHJ photovoltaic cells made with DTBDT-Rho:PC71BM blends showed an extremely high power conversion efficiency (PCE; 7.10%); notably, this PCE value was obtained without the use of additives or thermal treatments. To our knowledge, the PCE over 7% is a significantly powerful value among rhodanine-based small molecule BHJ solar cells without additives or thermal treatments.

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the drag reduction by laser-plasma energyaddition in a low density Mach 7 hypersonic flow. The experiments were conducted in a shock tunnel and the optical beam of a high power pulsed CO{sub 2} TEA laser operating with 7 J of energy and 30 MW peak power was focused to generate the plasma upstream of a hemispherical model installed in the tunnel test section. The non-intrusive schlieren optical technique was used to visualize the effects of the energyaddition to hypersonic flow, from the plasma generation until the mitigation of the shock wave profile over the model surface. Aside the optical technique, a piezoelectric pressure transducer was used to measure the impact pressure at stagnation point of the hemispherical model and the pressure reduction could be observed.

This paper presents data available from bed-rest and flight studies on the energy metabolism and thermoregulatory parameters and their changes during long-duration space missions which may influence requirements of astronauts for food and water. It is calculated, on the basis of 3100 kcal and 2.2 l water a day, with 1 h/day moderate exercise, that the requirements for a 2-yr flight would be 2,263,000 kcal and 1606 l water for each astronaut. One daily 5-h-long extravehicular sortie would require an additional 529,250 kcal and 1,095 l of water per year. Changes in the efficiency of work or metabolism would affect these nutritional requirements for long spaceflights. Factors that would increase food and water requirements are discussed.

Molten nitrate is widely used as thermal storage medium in the solar thermal power plants for its appropriate phase-change temperature, high heat storage density and low cost, etc. But its low thermal conductivity, heat absorbing and releasing rate limited its application. Expanded graphite (EG) can compensate the low thermal conductivity of nitrate. In this study, binary nitrates at the weight ratio of 4:6 for LiNO3:KNO3 were prepared using static mixed melting method. EG with the mass fraction of 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 % and 30 % was used to enhance the thermal conductivity. The compound of nitrates/EG was prepared using the ultrasonic smashing method. The thermal conductivity of binary nitrates, EG and nitrates/EG composite was measured by the transient plane heat source technique (TPS). The thermal behaviors were analyzed with a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Results showed that the addition of EG significantly enhanced the thermal conductivity, e.g., the thermal conductivity of 10 wt% EG composite phase-change material (PCM) is 8.5 W(m{^{-1}} K{^{-1}}) to 9.5 W(m{^{-1}}K{^{-1}}), which is about eight times larger than that of binary nitrates. To observe the combination morphology, pure EG, nitrates/EG composite PCM and binary nitrates were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The thermal reliability of the binary nitrates and the composite PCM was determined by DSC. Thermal cycling test showed that both binary nitrates and nitrates/EG composite material have good thermal reliability.

Description of relative rate measurements for the addition of O(3P) to C2H4, C2F4, C3H6, and C4H8-1 in liquid argon at 87.5 K. The data strongly indicate that the activation energies for the addition of O(3P) to the double bonds of propylene and butene-1 are identical, probably to within 0.1 kcal/mole. It is very doubtful that differences in pre-exponential factors or other factors such as solvent effects, could invalidate this conclusion. A similar argument holds for the C2H4 and C2F4 reactions. Furthermore, the experiments suggest that the activation energy for addition of O(3P) to the double bond of butene-1 is about 0.1 kcal/mole.

The Boussinesq approximation is extended so as to explicitly account for the transfer of fluid energy through viscous action into thermalenergy. Ideal and dissipative integral invariants are discussed, in addition to the general equations for thermal-fluid motion.

To meet the demand for sustainable energy, aquifer thermalenergy storage (ATES) is widely used in the subsurface in urban areas. However, contamination of groundwater, especially with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), is often being encountered. This is commonly seen as an impediment to ATES implementation, although more recently, combining ATES and enhanced bioremediation of CVOCs has been proposed. Issues to be addressed are the high water flow velocities and potential periodic redox fluctuation that accompany ATES. A column study was performed, at a high water flow velocity of 2 m/h, simulating possible changes in subsurface redox conditions due to ATES operation by serial additions of lactate and nitrate. The impacts of redox changes on reductive dechlorination as well as the microbial response of Dehalococcoides (DHC) were evaluated. The results showed that, upon lactate addition, reductive dechlorination proceeded well and complete dechlorination from cis-DCE to ethene was achieved. Upon subsequent nitrate addition, reductive dechlorination immediately ceased. Disruption of microorganisms' retention was also immediate and possibly detached DHC which preferred attaching to the soil matrix under biostimulation conditions. Initially, recovery of dechlorination was possible but required bioaugmentation and nutrient amendment in addition to lactate dosing. Repeated interruption of dechlorination and DHC activity by nitrate dosing appeared to be less easily reversible requiring more efforts for regenerating dechlorination. Overall, our results indicate that the microbial resilience of DHC in biosimulated ATES conditions is sensitive to redox fluctuations. Hence, combining ATES with bioremediation requires dedicated operation and monitoring on the aquifer geochemical conditions.

Many approaches have been developing for energy conversion throughout the world. However, it is difficult to achieve the global warming countermeasure based on “The Kyoto protocol”. Until now effective utilization of low temperature thermalenergy (under 300°C) is not advancing one. For example, effective utilization method has not been established for waste heat energy which arise from industry machine tools, automobiles, internal combustion engines and thermalenergy from natural environment, etc. In this paper, we reported the experiment for effective utilizing of low temperature (under 300°C) thermalenergy conversion. The device used for the measurement is a copper thermo device. Thermo electromotive force of 150mW/cm2 was obtained at 200°C. The obtained thermo electromotive force is about 15 times higher in comparison with generally used alumal-chromal thermocouple. Our aim is that utilizes low temperature thermalenergy effectively by converting into electricity.

This paper focused on the influence of using position of thermal insulation materials in exterior walls on the indoor thermal comfort and building energy consumption of residential building in Chongqing. In this study, four (4) typical residential building models in Chongqing were established, which have different usage of thermal insulation layer position in exterior walls. Indoor thermal comfort hours, cooling and heating energy consumption of each model were obtained by using a simulation tool, Energyplus. Based on the simulation data, the influence of thermal insulation position on indoor thermal comfort and building energy consumption in each season was analyzed. The results showed that building with internal insulation had the highest indoor thermal comfort hours and least cooling and heating energy consumption in summer and winter. In transitional season, the highest indoor thermal comfort hours are obtained when thermal insulation is located on the exterior side.

Given any operational definition of pairwise interaction, the set of residues that differ between two structurally homologous proteins can be uniquely partitioned into subsets of clusters for which no such interactions occur between clusters. Although hybrid protein sequences that preserve such clustering are consistent with tertiary structures composed of only parental native-like interactions, the stability of such predicted structures will depend upon the physical robustness of the assumed interaction potential. A simple distance cutoff criterion was applied to the most thermostable protein known to predict such a seven-residue cluster in the metal binding site region of Pyrococcus furiosus rubredoxin and a mesophile homolog. Both conformational stability and thermal transition temperature measurements demonstrate that 39% of the differential stability arises from these seven residues.

The implementation of a program level assessment of thermalenergy storage technology thrusts for the near and far term to assure overall coherent energy storage program is considered. The identification and definition of potential thermalenergy storage applications, definition of technology requirements, and appropriate market sectors are discussed along with the necessary coordination, planning, and preparation associated with program reviews, workshops, multi-year plans and annual operating plans for the major laboratory tasks.

thermal storage system for other uses such as heating , 4. Reconfigure the micro-grid for optimal performance and energy storage after all...of Naval Operations, Technical Monitor: Stacey Cmtis, Space and Naval AGENCY REPORT NUMBER Watfare Systems Command, (ESTEP) Energy Systems ...chiller system powered by renewable energy with ice thermal storage . A control strategy was also developed that matched the chiller load to any

The leading-order (i.e., dipole-dipole) dispersion energy is calculated for one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) infinite lattices, and an infinite 1D array of infinitely long lines, of doubly occupied locally harmonic wells. The dispersion energy is decomposed into pairwise and non-pairwise additive components. By varying the force constant and separation of the wells, the non-pairwise additive contribution to the dispersion energy is shown to depend on the overlap of density between neighboring wells. As well separation is increased, the non-pairwise additivity of the dispersion energy decays. The different rates of decay for 1D and 2D lattices of wells is explained in terms of a Jacobian effect that influences the number of nearest neighbors. For an array of infinitely long lines of wells spaced 5 bohrs apart, and an inter-well spacing of 3 bohrs within a line, the non-pairwise additive component of the leading-order dispersion energy is −0.11 kJ mol{sup −1} well{sup −1}, which is 7% of the total. The polarizability of the wells and the density overlap between them are small in comparison to that of the atomic densities that arise from the molecular density partitioning used in post-density-functional theory (DFT) damped dispersion corrections, or DFT-D methods. Therefore, the nonadditivity of the leading-order dispersion observed here is a conservative estimate of that in molecular clusters.

Film energetics are becoming increasingly popular because a variety of technologies are driving a need for localized energy generation in a stable, safe and flexible form. Aluminum (Al) and molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) composites were mixed into a silicon binder and extruded using a blade casting technique to form flexible free-standing films ideal for localized energy generation. Since this material can be extruded onto a surface it is well suited to additive manufacturing applications. This study examines the influence of 0-35% by mass potassium perchlorate (KClO₄) additive on the combustion behavior of these energetic films. Without KClO₄ the film exhibits thermalmore » instabilities that produce unsteady energy propagation upon reaction. All films were cast at a thickness of 1 mm with constant volume percent solids to ensure consistent rheological properties. The films were ignited and flame propagation was measured. The results show that as the mass percent KClO₄ increased, the flame speed increased and peaked at 0.43 cm/s and 30 wt% KClO₄. Thermochemical equilibrium simulations show that the heat of combustion increases with increasing KClO₄ concentration up to a maximum at 20 wt% when the heat of combustion plateaus, indicating that the increased chemical energy liberated by the additional KClO₄ promotes stable energy propagation. Differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analysis show that the silicone binder participates as a fuel and reacts with KClO₄ adding energy to the reaction and promoting propagation.« less

The purpose of this study was to provide information in support of an investigation of thermal technologies as possible treatment process for buried wastes at the INEL. Material and energy balances and a cost estimate were generated for a representative plasma torch-based thermal waste treatment system operating in a pyrolysis mode. Two waste streams were selected which are representative of INEL buried wastes, large in volume, and difficult to treat by other technologies. These streams were a solidified nitrate sludge waste stream and a waste/soil mix of other buried waste components. The treatment scheme selected includes a main plasma chamber operating under pyrolyzing conditions; a plasma afterburner to provide additional residence time at high temperature to ensure complete destruction of hazardous organics; an off-gas treatment system; and a incinerator and stack to oxidize carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and vent the clean, oxidized gases to atmosphere. The material balances generated provide materials flow and equipment duty information of sufficient accuracy to generate initial rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) system capital and operating cost estimates for a representative plasma thermal processing system.

The major design and performance test subtasks in the development of small (200 to 1,000 whr) integral heat pipe/thermalenergy storage devices for use with thermally driven spacecraft cryo-coolers are described. The design of the integral heat pipe/thermalenergy storage device was based on a quasi steady resistance heat transfer, lumped capacitance model. Design considerations for the heat pipe and thermal storage annuli are presented. The thermomechanical stress and insulation system design for the device are reviewed. Experimental correlations are described, as are the plans for the further development of the concept.

We propose a conceptual study of prototype strained hydrocarbon molecules as high energy density additives for hybrid rocket fuels to boost the performance of these rockets without compromising safety and reliability. Use of these additives could extend the range of applications for which hybrid rockets become an attractive alternative to conventional solid or liquid fuel rockets. The objectives of the study were to confirm and quantify the high enthalpy of these strained molecules and to assess improvement in rocket performance that would be expected if these additives were blended with conventional fuels. We confirmed the chemical properties (including enthalpy) of these additives. However, the predicted improvement in rocket performance was too small to make this a useful strategy for boosting hybrid rocket performance.

The first part of the dissertation presents a study that implements micro and nano scale engineered surfaces for enhancement of evaporation and boiling phase change heat transfer in both capillary wick structures and pool boiling systems. Capillary wicking surfaces are integral components of heat pipes and vapor chamber thermal spreaders often used for thermal management of microelectronic devices. In addition, pool boiling systems can be encountered in immersion cooling systems which are becoming more commonly investigated for thermal management applications of microelectronic devices and even data centers. The latent heat associated with the change of state from liquid to vapor, and the small temperature differences required to drive this process yield great heat transfer characteristics. Additionally, since no external energy is required to drive the phase change process, these systems are great for portable devices and favorable for reduction of cost and energy consumption over alternate thermal management technologies. Most state of the art capillary wicks used in these devices are typically constructed from sintered copper media. These porous structures yield high surface areas of thin liquid film where evaporation occurs, thus promoting phase change heat transfer. However, thermal interfaces at particle point contacts formed during the sintering process and complex liquid/vapor flow within these wick structures yield high thermal and liquid flow resistances and limit the maximum heat flux they can dissipate. In capillary wicks the maximum heat flux is typically governed by the capillary or boiling limits and engineering surfaces that delay these limitations and yield structures with large surface areas of thin liquid film where phase change heat transfer is promoted is highly desired. In this study, biporous media consisting of microscale pin fins separated by microchannels are examined as candidate structures for the evaporator wick of a vapor chamber heat

When plant leaves or chloroplasts are exposed to illumination that exceeds their photosynthetic capacity, photoprotective mechanisms such as described by the energy-dependent (non-photochemical) quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence are involved. The protective action is attributed to an increased rate constant for thermal dissipation of absorbed quanta. We applied photoacoustic spectroscopy to monitor thermal dissipation in spinach thylakoid membranes together with simultaneous measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence in the presence of inhibitors of opposite action on the formation of delta pH across the thylakoid membrane (tentoxin and nigericin/valinomycin). A linear relationship between the appearance of fluorescence quenching during formation of the delta pH and the reciprocal variation of thermal dissipation was demonstrated. Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, which is known to prevent protonation of the minor light-harvesting complexes of photosystem II, significantly reduced the formation of fluorescence quenching and the concurrent increase in thermal dissipation. However, the addition of exogenous ascorbate to activate the xanthophyll de-epoxidase increased non-photochemical fluorescence quenching without affecting the measured thermal dissipation. It is concluded that a portion of energy-dependent fluorescence quenching that is independent of de-epoxidase activity can be readily measured by photoacoustic spectroscopy as an increase in thermal deactivation processes.

Partial thickness articular cartilage lesions are commonly encountered in orthopedic surgery. These lesions do not have the ability to heal by themselves, due to lack of vascular supply. Several types of treatment have addressed this problem, including mechanical debridement and thermal chondroplasty. The goal of these treatments is to provide a smooth cartilage surface and prevent propagation of the lesions. Early thermal chondroplasty was performed using lasers, and yielded very mixed results, including severe damage to the cartilage, due to poor control of the induced thermal effects. This led to the development (including commercial) of probes using radiofrequency to generate the thermal effects desired for chondroplasty. Similar concerns over the quantitative aspects and control ability of the induced thermal effects in these treatments led us to test the whole range of complex issues and parameters involved. Our investigations are designed to simultaneously evaluate clinical conditions, instrument variables for existing radiofrequency probes (pressure, speed, distance, dose) as well as the associated basic science issues such as damage temperature and controllability (down to the subcellular level), damage geometry, and effects of surrounding conditions (medium, temperature, flow, pressure). The overall goals of this work are (1) to establish whether thermal chondroplasty can be used in a safe and efficacious manner, and (2) provide a prescription for multi-variable optimization of the way treatments are delivered, based on quantitative analysis. The methods used form an interdisciplinary set, to include precise mechanical actuation, high accuracy temperature and temperature gradient control and measurement, advanced imaging approaches and mathematical modeling.

The commercial grade polyacrylic latex was modified in order to prepare a mechanical and thermal improved coating. TiO2/Ag-exchanged-aluminosilicate nanocomposites with montmorillonite, zeolite-A and clinoptilolite aluminosilicates were prepared and used as additive in the matrix of polyacrylic latex to achieve a coating with proper mechanical and thermal properties. X-ray diffraction patterns and FESEM were used to characterize the composition, structure, and morphology of the nanocomposite additives. Polyacrylic coatings modified by TiO2/Ag-exchanged-aluminosilicate nanocomposite additives showed higher adhesion strength and hardness compared to unmodified commercial grade polyacrylic coatings. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis showed lower glass transition temperature for modified polyacrylic coatings than that of unmodified polyacrylic coatings. The tensile tests were also carried out for unmodified and modified polyacrylic coatings. According to the results, the modified polyacrylic based coating with TiO2/Ag-exchanged-clinoptilolite nanocomposite additive was the best coating considering most of useful properties.

The vision of intelligent and large-area fabrics capable of signal processing, sensing and energy harvesting has made incorporating electronic devices into flexible fibers an active area of research. Fiber-integrated rectifying junctions in the form of photovoltaic cells and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been fabricated on optical fiber substrates. However, the length of these fiber devices has been limited by the processing methods and the lack of a sufficiently conductive and transparent electrode. Their cylindrical device geometry is ideal for single device architectures, like photovoltaics and LEDs, but not amenable to building multiple devices into a single fiber. In contrast, the composite preform-to-fiber approach pioneered in our group addresses the key challenges of device density and fiber length simultaneously. It allows one to construct structured fibers composed of metals, insulators and semiconductors and enables the incorporation of many devices into a single fiber capable of performing complex tasks such as of angle of incidence and color detection. However, until now, devices built by the preform-to-fiber approach have demonstrated only ohmic behavior due to the chalcogenide semiconductor's amorphous nature and defect density. From a processing standpoint, non-crystallinity is necessary to ensure that the preform viscosity during thermal drawing is large enough to extend the time-scale of breakup driven by surface tension effects in the fluids to times much longer than that of the actual drawing. The structured preform cross-section is maintained into the microscopic fiber only when this requirement is met. Unfortunately, the same disorder that is integral to the fabrication process is detrimental to the semiconductors' electronic properties, imparting large resistivities and effectively pinning the Fermi level near mid-gap. Indeed, the defect density within the mobility gap of many chalcogenides has been found to be 1018-1019 cm-3 eV-1

Solar Thermal Electricity (STE) is an important alternative to PV electricity production, not only because it is getting more cost competitive with the continuous growth in installed capacity, engineering and associated innovations, but also, because of its unique dispatch ability advantage as a result of the already well established 2-tank energy storage using molten salts (MS). In recent years, research has been performed, on direct MS systems, to which features like modularity and combinations with other (solid) thermal storage materials are considered with the goal of achieving lower investment cost. Several alternative materials and systems have been studied. In this research, storage materials were identified with thermo-physical data being presented for different rocks (e.g. quartzite), super concrete, and other appropriate solid materials. Among the new materials being proposed like rocks from old quarries, an interesting option is the incorporation of solid waste material from old mines belonging to the Iberian Pyritic Belt. These are currently handled as byproducts of past mine activity, and can potentially constitute an environmental hazard due to their chemical (metal) content. This paper presents these materials, as part of a broad study to improve the current concept of solar energy storage for STE plants, and additionally presents a potentially valuable solution for environmental protection related to re-use of mining waste.

Ion cyclotron resonance methods were used to measure the product distributions for thermal-energy charge-transfer reactions of He(+), Ne(+), and Ar(+) ions with N2, O2, CO, NO, CO2, and N2O. Except for the He(+)-N2 reaction, no molecular ions were formed by thermal-energy charge transfer from He(+) and Ne(+) with these target molecules. The propensity for dissociative ionization channels in these highly exothermic charge-transfer reactions at thermalenergies contrasts with the propensity for formation of parent molecular ions observed in photoionization experiments and in high-energy charge-transfer processes. This difference is explained in terms of more stringent requirements for energy resonance and favorable Franck-Condon factors at thermal ion velocities.

Work initiated on a common-module thermal test simulation was continued, and a second project on heat pipe simulation was begun. The test bed, constructed from surplus Skylab equipment, was modeled and solved for various thermal load and flow conditions. Low thermal load caused the radiator fluid, Coolanol 25, to thicken due to its temperature avoided by using a regenerator-heat-exchanger. Other possible solutions modeled include a radiator heater and shunting heat from the central thermal bus to the radiator. Also, module air temperature can become excessive with high avionics load. A second preoject concerning advanced heat pipe concepts was initiated. A program was written which calculates fluid physical properties, liquid and vapor pressure in the evaporator and condenser, fluid flow rates, and thermal flux. The program is directed to evaluating newer heat pipe wicks and geometries, especially water in an artery surrounded by six vapor channels. Effects of temperature, groove and slot dimensions, and wick properties are reported.

Additive manufacturing is a rapidly growing field where 3-dimensional parts can be produced layer by layer. NASA's electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3) technology is being evaluated to manufacture metallic parts in a space environment. The benefits of EBF3 technology are weight savings to support space missions, rapid prototyping in a zero gravity environment, and improved vehicle readiness. The EBF3 system is composed of 3 main components: electron beam gun, multi-axis position system, and metallic wire feeder. The electron beam is used to melt the wire and the multi-axis positioning system is used to build the part layer by layer. To insure a quality deposit, a near infrared (NIR) camera is used to image the melt pool and solidification areas. This paper describes the calibration and application of a NIR camera for temperature measurement. In addition, image processing techniques are presented for deposit assessment metrics.

The most common bone cement material used clinically today for orthopedic surgery is poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Conventional PMMA bone cement has several mechanical, thermal, and biological disadvantages. To overcome these problems, researchers have investigated combinations of PMMA bone cement and several bioactive particles (micrometers to nanometers in size), such as magnesium oxide, hydroxyapatite, chitosan, barium sulfate, and silica. A study comparing the effect of these individual additives on the mechanical, thermal, and cell functional properties of PMMA would be important to enable selection of suitable additives and design improved PMMA cement for orthopedic applications. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the effect of inclusion of magnesium oxide, hydroxyapatite, chitosan, barium sulfate, and silica additives in PMMA on the mechanical, thermal, and cell functional performance of PMMA. American Society for Testing and Materials standard three-point bend flexural and fracture tests were conducted to determine the flexural strength, flexural modulus, and fracture toughness of the different PMMA samples. A custom-made temperature measurement system was used to determine maximum curing temperature and the time needed for each PMMA sample to reach its maximum curing temperature. Osteoblast adhesion and proliferation experiments were performed to determine cell viability using the different PMMA cements. We found that flexural strength and fracture toughness were significantly greater for PMMA specimens that incorporated silica than for the other specimens. All additives prolonged the time taken to reach maximum curing temperature and significantly improved cell adhesion of the PMMA samples. The results of this study could be useful for improving the union of implant-PMMA or bone-PMMA interfaces by incorporating nanoparticles into PMMA cement for orthopedic and orthodontic applications. PMID:24920906

Sustainable energy use has become topical in the whole world. Energy gives us comfort we are used to. EU and national regulations determine energy efficiency of the buildings. This is one side of the problem - energy efficiency of houses during exploitation. But the other side is primary energy content of used materials and more rational use of resources during the whole life cycle of a building. The latter value constitutes about 8 - 20% from the whole energy content. Calculations of energy efficiency of materials lead us to energy efficiency of insulation materials and to comparison of natural and industrial materials taking into account their thermal conductivity as well as their primary energy content. Case study of the test house (built in 2012) insulated with straw bales gave the result that thermal transmittance of investigated straw bale walls was according to the minimum energy efficiency requirements set in Estonia U = 0.12 - 0.22 W/m2K (for walls).

A scheme was developed to model the thermal hydrodynamic behavior of thermalenergy storage salts. The model included buoyancy, surface tension, viscosity, phases change with density difference, and void growth and movement. The energy, momentum, and continuity equations were solved using a finite volume formulation. The momentum equation was divided into two pieces. The void growth and void movement are modeled between the two pieces of the momentum equations. Results showed this scheme was able to predict the behavior of thermalenergy storage salts.

Jute fibre along with Cu particle reinforced unsaturated polyester composites having different filler loading viz. 2, 5, 10 and 15 wt% were fabricated by compression molding technique. In present investigation, it was observed that with fillers (Jute and Cu) incorporation, the electrical conductivity was monotonically increased up to 10 wt% of filler content followed by saturation at 15 wt% of filler content. It was further observed that along with fillers (Jute and Cu) incorporation, the thermal insulation was decreased monotonically up to 10 wt% of filler content and achieved a saturation at 15 wt% of filler content. A similar trend was observed with the variation of electrical conductivity and thermal insulation after incorporation of graphite within copper reinforced UP/Jute composites. Structural investigation through SEM, XRD and FTIR confirm the dispersion of fillers. An improvement of crystallinity of the matrix with fillers addition was observed from XRD analyses. The interfacial bonding between fillers and matrix was studied from FTIR pattern.

Jute fibre along with Cu particle reinforced unsaturated polyester composites having different filler loading viz. 2, 5, 10 and 15 wt% were fabricated by compression molding technique. In present investigation, it was observed that with fillers (Jute and Cu) incorporation, the electrical conductivity was monotonically increased up to 10 wt% of filler content followed by saturation at 15 wt% of filler content. It was further observed that along with fillers (Jute and Cu) incorporation, the thermal insulation was decreased monotonically up to 10 wt% of filler content and achieved a saturation at 15 wt% of filler content. A similar trend was observed with the variation of electrical conductivity and thermal insulation after incorporation of graphite within copper reinforced UP/Jute composites. Structural investigation through SEM, XRD and FTIR confirm the dispersion of fillers. An improvement of crystallinity of the matrix with fillers addition was observed from XRD analyses. The interfacial bonding between fillers and matrix was studied from FTIR pattern.

The Department of Energy's Division of Energy Storage Systems (STOR) is supporting a broad range of projects to conserve energy and to make possible shifting away from oil and natural gas by developing new and/or improved energy-storage systems applicable to central power generation, dispersed power generation, solar and waste heat utilization, and vehicle propulsion. These programs include: ThermalEnergy Storage; Chemical/Hydrogen Energy Storage; Mechanical and Magnetic Energy Storage; and Underground Energy Storage. Technical and Economic Analysis is supported concurrently to evaluate competitive energy storage options. This summary report addresses the above categories except for Technical and Economic Analysis. Thermal and Chemical/Hydrdogen Energy Storage technologies offer the greatest potential for near-term impact of all the storage technologies under development. During FY 80, STOR will commit nearly $32 million to the Thermal and Mechanical Energy Storage Program. The breakdown of budget authorized funding for FY 1979 and Fy 1980 is shown. This publication consists principally of summary sheets for each active project in the Thermal, Chemical/Hydrogen, and Mechanical Energy Storage Program for FY 1979. Each summary includes: project title, principal investigator, organization, project goals, project status, contract number, contract period, funding level and funding source. An overview section is given before each set of project summaries.

Up to 80% of the cost of vaccination programmes is due to the cold chain problem (that is, keeping vaccines cold). Inexpensive, biocompatible additives to slow down the degradation of virus particles would address the problem. Here we propose and characterize additives that, already at very low concentrations, improve the storage time of adenovirus type 5. Anionic gold nanoparticles (10-8-10-6 M) or polyethylene glycol (PEG, molecular weight ~8,000 Da, 10-7-10-4 M) increase the half-life of a green fluorescent protein expressing adenovirus from ~48 h to 21 days at 37 °C (from 7 to >30 days at room temperature). They replicate the known stabilizing effect of sucrose, but at several orders of magnitude lower concentrations. PEG and sucrose maintained immunogenicity in vivo for viruses stored for 10 days at 37 °C. To achieve rational design of viral-vaccine stabilizers, our approach is aided by simplified quantitative models based on a single rate-limiting step.

Up to 80% of the cost of vaccination programmes is due to the cold chain problem (that is, keeping vaccines cold). Inexpensive, biocompatible additives to slow down the degradation of virus particles would address the problem. Here we propose and characterize additives that, already at very low concentrations, improve the storage time of adenovirus type 5. Anionic gold nanoparticles (10−8–10−6 M) or polyethylene glycol (PEG, molecular weight ∼8,000 Da, 10−7–10−4 M) increase the half-life of a green fluorescent protein expressing adenovirus from ∼48 h to 21 days at 37 °C (from 7 to >30 days at room temperature). They replicate the known stabilizing effect of sucrose, but at several orders of magnitude lower concentrations. PEG and sucrose maintained immunogenicity in vivo for viruses stored for 10 days at 37 °C. To achieve rational design of viral-vaccine stabilizers, our approach is aided by simplified quantitative models based on a single rate-limiting step. PMID:27901019

The study of the ceramic characteristics of sludge ashes, alone or mixed with additives (kaolin, montmorillonite, illitic clay, powdered flat glass) includes characterization of additives, preparation of probes (dry or wet mixed), thermal treatment (up to 1200 degrees C, except melting or deformation) and control (densities, compressive strengths and water absorption). Thermal treatment increases the density and compressive strength of probes (both parameters go through maxima, with later decreases) and decreases the absorption of water. The densification is also revealed by the evolution of the ratio of decrease of volume/loss of mass. The maximum values of compressive strengths were obtained for 25% of illitic clay, montmorillonite and glass powder. Densification concerning probes with sludge ashes alone does not occur with kaolin. Experimental data were adjusted to exponential relationships between compressive strengths and densities for every composition, and also to a general equation for all probes. The apparent density obtained was adjusted to a non-linear dependence with temperature, leading to a maximum in density and permitting calculating the temperature of occurrence of this maximum. The adjustment was not possible for probes containing kaolin, requiring presumably higher temperatures to densify. Water absorption has low values for ashes or kaolin probes, intermediate values for illite and powdered flat glass probes and high values for montmorillonite probes. Excepting with kaolin, ceramic materials with better characteristics than sludge ashes without additives were obtained at lower treatment temperatures.

... and End of Year Compliance § 74.47 Transfer of allowances from the replacement of thermalenergy... seeking to transfer allowances based on the replacement of thermalenergy. (3) Contents. Each thermal... energy plan, the Administrator will annually transfer allowances to the compliance account of each...

Understanding the energetics of solar flares depends on obtaining reliable determinations of the energy input to flare plasma. X-ray observations of the thermal bremsstrahlung from hot flare plasma provide temperatures and emission measures which, along with estimates of the plasma volume, allow the energy content of this hot plasma to be computed. However, if thermalenergy losses are significant or if significant energy goes directly into cooler plasma, this is only a lower limit on the total energy injected into thermal plasma during the flare. We use SOHO UVCS observations of O VI flare emission scattered by coronal O VI ions to deduce the flare emission at transition region temperatures between 100,000 K and 1 MK for the 2002 July 23 and other flares. We find that the radiated energy at these temperatures significantly increases the deduced energy input to the thermal plasma, but by an amount that is less than the uncertainty in the computed energies. Comparisons of computed thermal and nonthermal electron energies deduced from RHESSI, GOES, and UVCS are shown.

This paper presents a thermalenergy and Liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold energy hybrid power generation system. Performances of four different Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) configurations (the basic, the regenerative, the reheat and the regenerative-reheat ORCs) are studied based on the first and the second law of thermodynamics. Dry organic fluid R245fa is selected as the typical working fluid. Parameter analysis is also conducted in this paper. The results show that regeneration could not increase the thermal efficiency of the thermal and cold energy hybrid power generation system. ORC with the reheat process could produce more specific net power output but it may also reduce the system thermal efficiency. The basic and the regenerative ORCs produce higher thermal efficiency while the regenerative-reheat ORC performs best in the exergy efficiency. A preheater is necessary for the thermal and cold energy hybrid power generation system. And due to the presence of the preheater, there will be a step change of the system performance as the turbine inlet pressure rises.

Infection with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes diarrhea, vomiting, and high mortality in suckling pigs. Contaminated feed has been suggested as a vehicle of transmission for PEDV. The objective of this study was to compare thermal and electron beam processing, and the inclusion of feed additives on the inactivation of PEDV in feed. Feed samples were spiked with PEDV and then heated to 120–145°C for up to 30 min or irradiated at 0–50 kGy. Another set of feed samples spiked with PEDV and mixed with Ultracid P (Nutriad), Activate DA (Novus International), KEM-GEST (Kemin Agrifood), Acid Booster (Agri-Nutrition), sugar or salt was incubated at room temperature (~25°C) for up to 21 days. At the end of incubation, the virus titers were determined by inoculation of Vero-81 cells and the virus inactivation kinetics were modeled using the Weibull distribution model. The Weibull kinetic parameter delta represented the time or eBeam dose required to reduce virus concentration by 1 log. For thermal processing, delta values ranged from 16.52 min at 120°C to 1.30 min at 145°C. For eBeam processing, a target dose of 50 kGy reduced PEDV concentration by 3 log. All additives tested were effective in reducing the survival of PEDV when compared with the control sample (delta = 17.23 days). Activate DA (0.81) and KEM-GEST (3.28) produced the fastest inactivation. In conclusion, heating swine feed at temperatures over 130°C or eBeam processing of feed with a dose over 50 kGy are effective processing steps to reduce PEDV survival. Additionally, the inclusion of selected additives can decrease PEDV survivability. PMID:27341670

The lifetimes of thermal barrier coatings (TBC's) with various NiAlPt(HfZr) bond coats were determined by cyclic oxidation testing at 1163 C (2125 F). The bond coats were sprayed from powders by low pressure plasma spraying onto Rene N5 superalloy substrates. Yttria stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) top coats were applied by air plasma spraying. Surprisingly, there was not a strong correlation between TBC lifetime and Pt or Hf content although Zr additions decreased lifetimes. TBC failure morphologies and bond coat microstructures were examined and are discussed with respect to the bond coat compositions.

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens are now receiving a portion of their daily demand for electricity from large-scale solar thermal electric generating stations-power plants that use concentrated solar energy to drive electric power generators. Just as with coal, fuel oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy, concentrated solar energy can create working temperatures of around 600C and much higher. Also, solar power plants contribute almost nothing to the atmospheric greenhouse effect and pose few, if any, of the other environmental problems associated with conventional energy sources. As a result of research and development within the national Solar Thermal Technology Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), solar thermalenergy is on the threshold of competing economically with conventional power plants and is now viable for international markets. Its potential for spurring American economic growth and exports is significant.

Integrating renewable energy sources into electricity grids requires advances in bulk and thermalenergy storage technologies, which are currently expensive and have limited capacity. We present an approach that uses the huge fluid and thermal storage capacity of the subsurface to harvest, store, and dispatch energy from subsurface (geothermal) and surface (solar, nuclear, fossil) thermal resources. CO2 captured from fossil-energy systems and N2 separated from air are injected into permeable formations to store pressure, generate artesian flow of brine, and provide additional working fluids. These enable efficient fluid recirculation, heat extraction, and power conversion, while adding operational flexibility. Our approach can also store and dispatch thermalenergy, which can be used to levelize concentrating solar power and mitigate variability of wind and solar power. This may allow low-carbon, base-load power to operate at full capacity, with the stored excess energy being available to addresss diurnal and seasonal mismatches between supply and demand. Concentric rings of horizontal injection and production wells are used to create a hydraulic divide to store pressure, CO2, N2, and thermalenergy. Such storage can take excess power from the grid and excess thermalenergy, and dispatch that energy when it is demanded. The system is pressurized and/or heated when power supply exceeds demand and depressurized when demand exceeds supply. Supercritical CO2 and N2 function as cushion gases to provide enormous pressure-storage capacity. Injecting CO2 and N2 displaces large quantities of brine, reducing the use of fresh water. Geologic CO2 storage is a crucial option for reducing CO2 emissions, but valuable uses for CO2 are needed to justify capture costs. The initial "charging" of our system requires permanently isolating large volumes of CO2 from the atmosphere and thus creates a market for its disposal. Our approach is designed for locations where a permeable

The collection and dissemination of thermalenergy storage (TES) system technology for the pulp and paper industry with the intent of reducing fossil fuel usage is discussed. The study plan is described and a description presented of example TES systems.

The economic viability and the institutional compatibility of a district heating system in the city of Bellingham, Washington are assessed and the technical and economic advantages of using thermalenergy storage methods are determined.

A fully compressible model is used to simulate the mass adjustment that occurs in response to a prescribed heat source. Results illustrate the role that thermal compression waves have in this process. The vertical mass transport associated with compression waves decreases rapidly with height. Most of the mass transport occurs in the horizontal, with the vertical structure of the disturbance similar to that of a Lamb wave. The vertical transfer of total energy in a thermally driven mixed layer is also examined. It is shown that the upward transport of total energy is accomplished by a compression effect rather than by the exchange of warm and cold air by buoyant thermals. Model results are analyzed to determine budgets of total energy, mass and entropy. It is demonstrated that buoyant thermals are predominantly responsible for a transfer of entropy, rather than total energy. In the light of these results the notion of 'heat transport' in a fluid is discussed.

A number of candidate thermalenergy storage system elements were identified as having the potential for the successful application of solar industrial process heat. These elements which include storage media, containment and heat exchange are shown.

This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America research supporting Thermal Bypass Air Barrier requirements. Since these were adopted in the 2009 IECC, close to one million homes have been mandated to include this vitally important energy efficiency measure.

Si-alloyed amorphous alumina coatings having a silicon concentration of 0 to 2.7 at. % were deposited by combinatorial reactive pulsed DC magnetron sputtering of Al and Al-Si (90-10 at. %) split segments in Ar/O{sub 2} atmosphere. The effect of Si alloying on thermal stability of the as-deposited amorphous alumina thin films and the phase formation sequence was evaluated by using differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. The thermal stability window of the amorphous phase containing 2.7 at. % of Si was increased by more than 100 °C compared to that of the unalloyed phase. A similar retarding effect of Si alloying was also observed for the α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} formation temperature, which increased by more than 120 °C. While for the latter retardation, the evidence for the presence of SiO{sub 2} at the grain boundaries was presented previously, this obviously cannot explain the stability enhancement reported here for the amorphous phase. Based on density functional theory molecular dynamics simulations and synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments for amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} with and without Si incorporation, we suggest that the experimentally identified enhanced thermal stability of amorphous alumina with addition of Si is due to the formation of shorter and stronger Si–O bonds as compared to Al–O bonds.

Pulverized combustion fly ash (PFA) from the Power plant Nováky (Slovakia) is analyzed for its potential use in the production of building ceramics. Three materials are used to prepare the mixtures: illite-rich clay (IRC), PFA and IRC fired at 1000 °C (called grog). The mixtures contain 60 % of IRC and 40 % of a non-plastic compound (grog or PFA). A various amount of the grog is replaced by PFA and the effect of this substitution is studied. Thermal analyses (TGA, DTA, thermodilatometry, and dynamical thermomechanical analysis) are used to analyze the processes occurring during firing. The flexural strength and thermal conductivity are determined at room temperature after firing in the temperature interval from 800 to 1100 °C. The results show that an addition of PFA slightly decreases the flexural strength. The thermal conductivity and porosity are practically unaffected by the presence of PFA. Thus, PFA from the Power plant Nováky is a convenient non-plastic component for manufacturing building ceramics.

This paper assesses the structural performance of a Space Station thermalenergy storage (TES) canister subject to orbital solar flux variation and engine cold start-up operating conditions. The impact of working fluid temperature and salt-void distribution on the canister structure are assessed. Both analytical and experimental studies were conducted to determine the temperature distribution of the canister. Subsequent finite-element structural analyses of the canister were performed using both analytically and experimentally obtained temperatures. The Arrhenius creep law was incorporated into the procedure, using secondary creep data for the canister material, Haynes-188 alloy. The predicted cyclic creep strain accumulations at the hot spot were used to assess the structural performance of the canister. In addition, the structural performance of the canister based on the analytically-determined temperature was compared with that based on the experimentally-measured temperature data.

The commercial development of ocean thermalenergy conversion (OTEC) operations will involve some environmental perturbations for which there is no precedent experience. The pumping of very large volumes of warm surface water and cold deep water and its subsequent discharge will result in the impingement, entrainment, and redistribution of biota. Additional stresses to biota will be caused by biocide usage and temperature depressions. However, the artificial upwelling of nutrients associated with the pumping of cold deep water, and the artificial reef created by an OTEC plant may have positive effects on the local environment. Although more detailed information is needed to assess the net effect of an OTEC operation on fisheries, certain assumptions and calculations are made, supporting the conclusion that the potential risk to fisheries is not signnificant enough to deter the early development of OTEC. It will be necessary to monitor a commercial-scale plant in order to remove many of the remaining uncertainties.

The structural performance of a space station thermalenergy storage (TES) canister subject to orbital solar flux variation and engine cold start up operating conditions was assessed. The impact of working fluid temperature and salt-void distribution on the canister structure are assessed. Both analytical and experimental studies were conducted to determine the temperature distribution of the canister. Subsequent finite element structural analyses of the canister were performed using both analytically and experimentally obtained temperatures. The Arrhenius creep law was incorporated into the procedure, using secondary creep data for the canister material, Haynes 188 alloy. The predicted cyclic creep strain accumulations at the hot spot were used to assess the structural performance of the canister. In addition, the structural performance of the canister based on the analytically determined temperature was compared with that based on the experimentally measured temperature data.

Additive manufacturing (AM) holds great potential for improving materials efficiency, reducing life-cycle impacts, and enabling greater engineering functionality compared to conventional manufacturing (CM) processes. For these reasons, AM has been adopted by a growing number of aircraft component manufacturers to achieve more lightweight, cost-effective designs. This study estimates the net changes in life-cycle primary energy and greenhouse gas emissions associated with AM technologies for lightweight metallic aircraft components through the year 2050, to shed light on the environmental benefits of a shift from CM to AM processes in the U.S. aircraft industry. A systems modeling framework is presented, with integrates engineering criteria, life-cycle environmental data, and aircraft fleet stock and fuel use models under different AM adoption scenarios. Estimated fleetwide life-cycle primary energy savings in a rapid adoption scenario reach 70-174 million GJ/year in 2050, with cumulative savings of 1.2-2.8 billion GJ. Associated cumulative emission reduction potentials of CO2e were estimated at 92.8-217.4 million metric tons. About 95% of the savings is attributed to airplane fuel consumption reductions due to lightweighting. In addition, about 4050 tons aluminum, 7600 tons titanium and 8100 tons of nickel alloys could be saved per year in 2050. The results indicate a significant role of AM technologies in helping society meet its long-term energy use and GHG emissions reduction goals, and highlight barriers and opportunities for AM adoption for the aircraft industry.

A study to assess the potential for waste heat recovery in the food industry and to evaluate prospective waste heat recovery system concepts employing thermalenergy storage was conducted. The study found that the recovery of waste heat in canning facilities can be performed in significant quantities using systems involving thermalenergy storage that are both practical and economical. A demonstration project is proposed to determine actual waste heat recovery costs and benefits and to encourage system implementation by the food industry.

The performance of a thermalenergy storage module is simulated numerically. The change of phase of the phase-change material (PCM) and the transient forced convective heat transfer for the transfer fluid with low Prandtl numbers are solved simultaneously as a conjugate problem. A parametric study and a system optimization are conducted. The numerical results show that module geometry is crucial to the design of a space-based thermalenergy storage system.

A study to assess the potential for waste heat recovery in the food industry and to evaluate prospective waste heat recovery system concepts employing thermalenergy storage was conducted. The study found that the recovery of waste heat in canning facilities can be performed in significant quantities using systems involving thermalenergy storage that are both practical and economical. A demonstration project is proposed to determine actual waste heat recovery costs and benefits and to encourage system implementation by the food industry.

thermal storage systems for heating and cooling applications are a valuable alternative. a. Batteries There are a multitude of batteries used for...INVESTIGATION OF A NOVEL THERMAL STORAGE CONCEPT AS PART OF A RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM by Lindsay M. Olsen June 2013 Thesis Advisor: Anthony J...RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Lindsay M. Olsen 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School

The ThermalEnergy Storage (TES) experiments are designed to provide data to help researchers understand the long-duration microgravity behavior of thermalenergy storage fluoride salts that undergo repeated melting and freezing. Such data, which have never been obtained before, have direct application to space-based solar dynamic power systems. These power systems will store solar energy in a thermalenergy salt, such as lithium fluoride (LiF) or a eutectic of lithium fluoride/calcium difluoride (LiF-CaF2) (which melts at a lower temperature). The energy will be stored as the latent heat of fusion when the salt is melted by absorbing solar thermalenergy. The stored energy will then be extracted during the shade portion of the orbit, enabling the solar dynamic power system to provide constant electrical power over the entire orbit. Analytical computer codes have been developed to predict the performance of a spacebased solar dynamic power system. However, the analytical predictions must be verified experimentally before the analytical results can be used for future space power design applications. Four TES flight experiments will be used to obtain the needed experimental data. This article focuses on the flight results from the first experiment, TES-1, in comparison to the predicted results from the ThermalEnergy Storage Simulation (TESSIM) analytical computer code.

A number of legal and regulatory issus that potentially can affect implementation of the Aquifer ThermalEnergy Storage (ATES) concept are examined. This concept involves the storage of thermalenergy in an underground aquifer until a later date when it can be effectively utilized. Either heat energy or chill can be stored. Potential end uses of the energy include district space heating and cooling, industrial process applications, and use in agriculture or aquaculture. Issues are examined in four categories: regulatory requirements, property rights, potential liability, and issues related to heat or chill delivery.

We investigated the influence of growth conditions on carrier dynamics in multilayer CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots (QDs) by monitoring the temperature dependence of the photoluminescence emission energy. The results were analyzed using the empirical Varshni and O'Donnell relations for temperature variation of the energy gap shift. Best fit values showed that the thermally activated transition between two different states occurs due to band low-temperature quenching with values separated by 5.0-6.5 meV. The addition of stack periods in multilayer CdTe/ZnTe QDs plays an important role in the energy gap shift, where the exciton binding energy is enhanced, and, conversely, the exciton-phonon coupling strength is suppressed with an average energy of 19.3-19.8 meV.

The blend films of ungelatinized and gelatinized starch/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were prepared with a solution casting method by the introduction of additives (glycerol/urea) or not. The phase morphologies and thermal behaviors of the blends were carefully analyzed. A droplet phase was observed in the blends containing ungelatinized starch and a laminated phase was observed in the blends containing gelatinized starch. For both ungelatinized and gelatinized starch/PVA blends, the melting temperature (T(m)) (210-230 °C) of PVA was detected, and the T(m) of gelatinized starch/PVA blends was higher than that of the ungelatinized starch/PVA blends. Blend films containing 16.8 wt% of glycerol or urea exhibited a decreased T(m). The introduction of additives (glycerol or urea) reduced the decomposition onset temperature of the blend films. These various morphologies and thermal behaviors could be attributed to the different hydrogen bonding interaction characteristics between starch and polyvinyl alcohol at different conditions.

At high penetration of solar generation there are a number of challenges to economically integrating this variable and uncertain resource. These include the limited coincidence between the solar resource and normal demand patterns and limited flexibility of conventional generators to accommodate variable generation resources. Of the large number of technologies that can be used to enable greater penetration of variable generators, concentrating solar power (CSP) with thermalenergy storage (TES) presents a number of advantages. The use of storage enables this technology to shift energy production to periods of high demand or reduced solar output. In addition, CSP can provide substantial grid flexibility by rapidly changing output in response to the highly variable net load created by high penetration of solar (and wind) generation. In this work we examine the degree to which CSP may be complementary to PV by performing a set of simulations in the U.S. Southwest to demonstrate the general potential of CSP with TES to enable greater use of solar generation, including additional PV.

Direct steam generation enables the implementation of a higher steam temperature for parabolic trough concentrated solar power plants. This leads to much better cycle efficiencies and lower electricity generating costs. For a flexible and more economic operation of such a power plant, it is necessary to develop thermalenergy storage systems for the extension of the production time of the power plant. In the case of steam as the heat transfer fluid, it is important to use a storage material that uses latent heat for the storage process. This leads to a minimum of exergy losses during the storage process. In the case of a concentrating solar power plant, superheated steam is needed during the discharging process. This steam cannot be superheated by the latent heat storage system. Therefore, a sensible molten salt storage system is used for this task. In contrast to the state-of-the-art thermalenergy storages within the concentrating solar power area of application, a storage system for a direct steam generation plant consists of a latent and a sensible storage part. Thus far, no partial load behaviors of sensible and latent heat storage systems have been analyzed in detail. In this work, an optimized fin structure was developed in order to minimize the costs of the latent heat storage. A complete system simulation of the power plant process, including the solar field, power block and sensible and latent heat energy storage calculates the interaction between the solar field, the power block and the thermalenergy storage system.

Airborne thermal scans of all NASA centers were made during 1975 and 1976. The remotely sensed data were used to identify a variety of heat losses, including those from building roofs and central heating system distribution lines. Thermal imagery from several NASA centers is presented to demonstrate the capability of detecting these heat losses remotely. Many heat loss areas located by the scan data were verified by ground surveys. At this point, at least for such energy-intensive areas, thermal scanning is an excellent means of detecting many possible energy losses.

Supplemental fat has been advocated for use during hot weather and often increases milk yield of cows past peak production when energy intake should not be limiting. Relative responses of primiparous and multiparous cows to supplemental fat or isocaloric addition of concentrates under hot weather conditions have not been determined. Nine multiparous and nine primiparous Holstein cows (154 and 167 d in milk, respectively) were used in a replicated 3 x 3 Latin square design with 28-d periods. Diets were 1) control (35% alfalfa silage, 25% corn silage, and 40% concentrate, dry matter [DM] basis); 2) control plus 3% fat (HF); and 3) high concentrate ([HC] 15% alfalfa silage, 25% corn silage, and 60% concentrate). Diets were isonitrogenous; diets HF and HC were isocaloric (1.60 Mcal of net energy for lactation [NE(L)] per kilogram DM) and higher energy than the control (1.52 Mcal/kg). No parity x diet interactions approached significance. DM intake (DMI) was greater when cows were fed HC than when they were fed HF (21.0, 20.1, and 21.3 kg/d for control, HF, and HC, respectively); intake of NE(L) tended to be increased only for HC. Milk yield was increased by higher-energy diets, but milk fat content was decreased. Milk total protein content was decreased by HF and increased by HC. Yield of solids-corrected milk (SCM) was not different among diets. Efficiency of milk production, expressed either as total milk solids yield per kilogram of DMI or as kilograms of SCM per megacalorie of NE(L) intake, was greater for HF than for HC. Plasma glucose was higher after feeding for cows fed HC; plasma nonesterified fatty acids were greater for HF. Respiration rate and rectal temperature were greater for HC than for HF. Regardless of parity, increased energy density from either fat or concentrate increased milk yield in midlactation cows, but diets caused energy to be partitioned differently among milk components and body storage. Supplemental rumen-active fat had modest advantages

A hydrid composite comprised of shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers with piezoelectric ceramic is designed to transform thermomechanical energy into electrical energy that can be stored or used to power other devices. SMA fiber, after its shape is memorized and prestrained at martensitic phase, extends to its original length upon heating to austenitic finish temperature. The compressive residual stress of the composite is induced at austenitic phase, and then by cooling to martensitic finish temperature, SMA will shrink and the residual stress will reduce. By direct effect of the piezoelectric matrix material the mechanical energy which was induced by temperature change can be converted to electrical energy. 1-D and 3-D models for the energy harvesting mechanism of the composite have been proposed. Eshelby formulation with Mori-Tanaka mean field theory modification is used to determine the effective thermo-electro-mechanical properties of the composite. Attention is focused on the constrained recovery behavior of SMA phase in this study. Electrical model is examined and the electrical energy stored in the piezoelectric matrix as a result of stress fluctuation is estimated. Numerical example is given that illustrate the ability of the composite to convert the thermomechanical energy into electrical energy.

Thermal buckling characteristics of hypersonic aircraft sandwich panels of various aspect ratios were investigated. The panel is fastened at its four edges to the substructures under four different edge conditions and is subjected to uniform temperature loading. Minimum potential energy theory and finite element methods were used to calculate the panel buckling temperatures. The two methods gave fairly close buckling temperatures. However, the finite element method gave slightly lower buckling temperatures than those given by the minimum potential energy theory. The reasons for this slight discrepancy in eigensolutions are discussed in detail. In addition, the effect of eigenshifting on the eigenvalue convergence rate is discussed.

A laminated plate theory analysis is developed to calculate the strain energy release rate associated with edge delamination growth in a composite laminate. The analysis includes the contribution of residual thermal and moisture stresses to the strain energy released. The strain energy release rate, G, increased when residual thermal effects were combined with applied mechanical strains, but then decreased when increasing moisture content was included. A quasi-three-dimensional finite element analysis indicated identical trends and demonstrated these same trends for the individual strain energy release rate components, G sub I and G sub II, associated with interlaminar tension and shear. An experimental study indicated that for T300/5208 graphite-epoxy composites, the inclusion of residual thermal and moisture stresses did not significantly alter the calculation of interlaminar fracture toughness from strain energy release rate analysis of edge delamination data taken at room temperature, ambient conditions.

A radio frequency (RF) dielectric heater has been developed for isolating thermal and nonthermal effects of RF energy on microorganisms in liquid foods. The modified heater enables the simultaneous application of RF energy and removal of thermalenergy from the liquids. A double-pipe heat exchanger is an integral part of the heater. The outer pipe is made of Teflon. The inner pipe is made of stainless steel that is grounded in the RF circuit. Liquid food flows through the annular region between the two concentric pipes. Cooling water flows through the stainless steel pipe. The food in the annular region absorbs the RF energy. Concurrently, the cooling water flowing in the inner pipe removes the thermalenergy from the food, thus controlling the temperature.

Different treatment routes have been studied for a mixed sludge: the conventional agricultural use is compared with the thermal oxidation processes, including incineration (in gaseous phase) and wet air oxidation (in liquid phase). The interest of a sludge digestion prior to the final treatment has been also considered according to the two major criteria, which are the fossil energy utilisation and the greenhouse effect gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) release. Thermalenergy has to be recovered on thermal processes to make these processes environmentally friendly, otherwise their main interest is to extract or destroy micropollutants and pathogens from the carbon cycle. In case of continuous energy recovery, incineration can produce more energy than it consumes. Digestion is especially interesting for agriculture: according to these two schemes, the energy final balance can also be in excess. As to wet air oxidation, it is probably one of the best ways to minimize greenhouse effect gases emission.

Low energy femtosecond laser pulses locally increase the refractive index and the hydro-fluoric acid etching rate of fused silica. These phenomena form the basis of a direct-write method to fabricate integrated glass devices that are of particular interest for optofluidics and optomechanical applications. Yet the underlying physical mechanism behind these effects remains elusive, especially the role of the laser polarization. Using Scanning Thermal Microscope and Raman spectrometer we observe in laser affected zones, a localized sharp decrease of the thermal conductivity correlated with an increased presence of low-number SiO(2) cycles. In addition, we find that a high correlation exists between the amount of structural changes and the decrease of thermal conductivity. Furthermore, sub-wavelength periodic patterns are detected for high peak power exposures. Finally, our findings indicate that, to date, the localized densification induced by femtosecond laser pulses remains well below the theoretical value achievable in mechanically densified silica.

Flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors are described, as are parabolic troughs, Fresnel lenses, and compound parabolic concentrators. Use of solar energy for domestic hot water and for space heating and cooling are discussed. Some useful references and methods of system design and sizing are given. This includes mention of the importance of economic analysis. The suitability of solar energy for industrial use is discussed, and solar ponds, point-focus receivers and central receivers are briefly described. The use of solar energy for process hot water, drying and dehydration, and process steam are examined, industrial process heat field tests by the Department of Energy are discussed, and a solar total energy system in Shenandoah, GA is briefly described. (LEW)

Flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors are described, as are parabolic troughs, Fesnel lenses, and compound parabolic concentrators. Use of solar energy for domestic hot water and for space heating and cooling are discussed. Some useful references and methods of system design and sizing are given. This includes mention of the importance of economic analysis. The suitability of solar energy for industrial use is discussed, and solar ponds, point-focus receivers and central receivers are briefly described. The use of solar energy for process hot water, drying and dehydration, and process steam was examined, industrial process heat field tests by the Department of Energy are discussed, and a solar total energy system in Shenandoah, GA is briefly described.

This study employs data from the airborne Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) to measure thermal (i.e., longwave) energy responses, emitted or upwelling, from discrete surfaces that are typical of the city landscape within Salt Lake City, Utah, over a single diurnal time period (i.e., a single day, night-time sequence). These data are used to quantify the disposition of thermalenergy for selected urban surfaces during the daytime and night-time, and the amount of change in thermal response or flux recorded between day and night. An analysis is presented on the thermal interrelationships observed for common urban materials for day, night, and flux, as identified from the TIMS data through the delineation of discrete surface type polygons. The results from the study illustrate that such factors as heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and the amount of soil moisture available have a profound impact on the magnitude of thermalenergy emanating from a specific surface and on the dynamics of longwave energy response between day and night.

Summary The intramolecular radical addition to aniline derivatives was investigated by DFT calculations. The computational methods were benchmarked by comparing the calculated values of the rate constant for the 5-exo cyclization of the hexenyl radical with the experimental values. The dispersion-corrected PW6B95-D3 functional provided very good results with deviations for the free activation barrier compared to the experimental values of only about 0.5 kcal mol−1 and was therefore employed in further calculations. Corrections for intramolecular London dispersion and solvation effects in the quantum chemical treatment are essential to obtain consistent and accurate theoretical data. For the investigated radical addition reaction it turned out that the polarity of the molecules is important and that a combination of electrophilic radicals with preferably nucleophilic arenes results in the highest rate constants. This is opposite to the Minisci reaction where the radical acts as nucleophile and the arene as electrophile. The substitution at the N-atom of the aniline is crucial. Methyl substitution leads to slower addition than phenyl substitution. Carbamates as substituents are suitable only when the radical center is not too electrophilic. No correlations between free reaction barriers and energies (ΔG ‡ and ΔG R) are found. Addition reactions leading to indanes or dihydrobenzofurans are too slow to be useful synthetically. PMID:24062821

Mine drainage is defined as the water which is discharged to the ground surface through shafts and/or cracks formed by mining activities. Typically, mine drainage features high concentration of acidity and metals since it passes through the underground. Therefore, for the purpose of protecting the surrounding natural environment, mine drainage should be remediated before being discharged to nature. Mine drainage, due to its nature of being retained underground, shows constant temperature which is independent from the temperature of the atmosphere above ground. This condition allows mine drainage to become a promising renewable energy source since energy can be recovered from water with constant temperature. In this research, a self-remediation system is proposed which remediates the mine drainage through electrochemical reactions powered by the thermalenergy of mine drainage. High energy efficiency is able to be achieved by shortening the distance between the energy source and consumption, and therefore, this system has a strong advantage to be actualized. A feasibility study for the system was conducted in this research where the thermalenergy of mine drainage over time and depth was calculated as energy supply and the required electrical energy for remediating the mine drainage was measured as energy consumption. While the technology of converting thermalenergy directly into electrical energy is yet to be developed, energy balance analysis results showed that the proposed self-remediation system is theoretically possible.

The emergence of net-zero energy buildings, buildings that generate at least as much energy as they consume, has lead to greater use of renewable energy sources such as solar thermalenergy. One example is a heat pump assisted solar thermal system, which uses solar thermal collectors with an electrical heat pump backup to supply space heating and domestic hot water. The complexity of such a system can be somewhat problematic for monitoring and maintaining a high level of performance. Therefore, an energy dashboard was developed to provide comprehensive and user friendly performance metrics for a solar heat pump system. Once developed, the energy dashboard was tested over a two-week period in order to determine the functionality of the dashboard program as well as the performance of the heating system itself. The results showed the importance of a user friendly display and how each metric could be used to better maintain and evaluate an energy system. In particular, Energy Factor (EF), which is the ratio of output energy (collected energy) to input energy (consumed energy), was a key metric for summarizing the performance of the heating system. Furthermore, the average EF of the solar heat pump system was 2.29, indicating an efficiency significantly higher than traditional electrical heating systems.

Chlorosomes are the largest light harvesting complexes in nature and consist of many bacteriochlorophyll pigments forming self-assembled J-aggregates. In this work, we use two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2D-ES) to investigate ultrafast dynamics of excitation energy transfer (EET) in chlorosomes and their temperature dependence. From time evolution of the measured 2D electronic spectra of chlorosomes, we directly map out the distribution of the EET rate among the manifold of exciton states in a 2D energy space. In particular, it is found that the EET rate varies gradually depending on the energies of energy-donor and energy-acceptor states. In addition, from comparative 2D-ES measurements at 77 K and room temperature, we show that the EET rate exhibits subtle dependence on both the exciton energy and temperature, demonstrating the effect of thermal excitation on the EET rate. This observation suggests that active thermal excitation at room temperature prevents the excitation trapping at low-energy states and thus promotes efficient exciton diffusion in chlorosomes at ambient temperature.

Key components of open-cycle ocean thermalenergy conversion systems--the flash evaporator, mist eliminator, passive predeaerator, two surface condenser stages, and two direct-contact condenser stages--have been tested using seawater. These components operate at lower steam pressures and higher inlet noncondensable gas concentrations than do conventional power plant heat exchangers. The rate of heat exchanged between the evaporator and the condenser is on the order of 1.25MW-thermal, requiring a warm seawater flow of about 0.1 m[sup 3]/s; the cold seawater flow is on the order of half the warm water flow. In addition to characterizing the performance of the various components, the system has produced potable water from condensation of the steam produced in the evaporator. The information obtained in these tests is being used to design a larger scale experiment in which net power production is expected to be demonstrate for the first time using OC-OTEC technology.

(Figure 1a) led to a 15% reduction in resistance. Similarly, a 2-ft tall air gap (Figure 1c) led to 54% reduction in thermal resistance. NREL researchers plan to extend this study to include additional wall configurations, and also to evaluate the performance of attic spaces with different insulation levels. NREL's objective is to address each potential issue that leads to inaccuracies in building energy simulation tools to improve the predictions.

The objective of this project is to research and develop a thermalenergy storage system (operating range 300°C - 450°C) based on encapsulated phase change materials (PCM) that can meet the utility-scale base-load concentrated solar power plant requirements at much lower system costs compared to the existing thermalenergy storage (TES) concepts. The major focus of this program is to develop suitable encapsulation methods for existing low-cost phase change materials that would provide a cost effective and reliable solution for thermalenergy storage to be integrated in solar thermal power plants. This project proposes a TES system concept that will allow for an increase of the capacity factor of the present CSP technologies to 75% or greater and reduce the cost to less than $20/kWht.

An improved electrochemical generator is disclosed. The electrochemical generator includes a thin-film electrochemical cell which is maintained in a state of compression through use of an internal or an external pressure apparatus. A thermal conductor, which is connected to at least one of the positive or negative contacts of the cell, conducts current into and out of the cell and also conducts thermalenergy between the cell and thermally conductive, electrically resistive material disposed on a vessel wall adjacent the conductor. The thermally conductive, electrically resistive material may include an anodized coating or a thin sheet of a plastic, mineral-based material or conductive polymer material. The thermal conductor is fabricated to include a resilient portion which expands and contracts to maintain mechanical contact between the cell and the thermally conductive material in the presence of relative movement between the cell and the wall structure. The electrochemical generator may be disposed in a hermetically sealed housing.

A thermocline thermal storage unit with a heat transfer fluid (HTF) of high-temperature molten salt is considered as one of the most promising methods of thermal storage due to its lower cost and smaller size. The main objective of this work is to analyze the transient behavior of the available molten salt FLiNaK used as the HTF in heat transfer and heat storage in a thermocline thermalenergy storage (TES) system. Thermal characteristics including temperature profiles influenced by different inlet velocities of HTF and different void fractions of porous heat storage medium are analyzed. The numerical investigation on the heat storage and heat transfer characteristics of FLiINaK has been carried out. A comparison between two different molten salts, FLiNaK and Hitec, has been explored in this paper with regards to their charging and discharging operations. The results indicate the system with FLiNaK has a greater energy storage capability, a shorter charging time and a higher output power. The numerical investigation reveals heat storage and heat transfer characteristics of the thermocline TES system with FLiNaK, and provide important references for molten salt selection of the TES system in the future.

The experimental results of the energyaddition by multi laser pulse in Mach 7 hypersonic flow are presented. Two high power pulsed CO{sub 2} TEA lasers (TEA1 5.5 J, TEA2 3.9 J) were assembled sharing the same optical cavity to generate the plasma upstream of a hemispherical model installed in the tunnel test section. The lasers can be triggered with a selectable time delay and in the present report the results obtained with delay between 30 {mu}s and 80 {mu}s are shown. The schlieren technique associated with a high speed camera was used to accomplish the influence of the energyaddition in the mitigation of the shock wave formed on the model surface by the hypersonic flow. A piezoelectric pressure transducer was used to obtain the time history of the impact pressure at stagnation point of the model and the pressure reduction could be measured. The total recovery of the shock wave between pulses as well as the prolonged effect of the mitigation without recovery was observed by changing the delay.

Justification of using renewable energy sources and a brief analysis of their application prospects is given. The most common renewable energy sources for mobile thermal power plants are presented. The possibilities and ways of using ethanol as an energy source for such plants with diesel engines are analyzed. It is shown that it is feasible to add small amounts of ethanol to oil diesel fuel (DF) for obtaining an environmentally sustainable energy source for diesel engines. Therewith, a stable mixture of components can be obtained by adding anhydrous (absolute) ethanol to the oil fuel. The authors studied a mixture containing 4% (by volume) of absolute ethanol and 96% of oil DF. The physicochemical properties of the mixture and each of its components are presented. Diesel engine of the type D-245.12S has been experimentally studied using the mixture of DF and ethanol. The possibility of reducing the toxicity level of the exhaust emissions when using this mixture as an energy source for diesel engines of mobile power plants is shown. Transition of the studied diesel engine from oil DF to its mixture with ethanol made it possible to reduce the smoke capacity of the exhaust gases by 15-25% and to decrease the specific mass emissions of nitrogen oxides by 17.4%. In this case, we observed a slight increase in the exhaust gas emissions of carbon monoxide and light unburned hydrocarbons, which, however, can easily be eliminated by providing the exhaust system of a diesel engine with a catalytic converter. It is noted that the studied mixture composition should be optimized. The conclusion is made that absolute ethanol is a promising ecofriendly additive to oil diesel fuel and should be used in domestic diesel engines.

Third Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP3) held in last December in Kyoto urged the industrialized nation to reduce carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions by 5.2 percent (on the average) below 1990 level until the period between 2008 and 2012 (Kyoto protocol). This implies that even for the most advanced countries like the US, Japan, and EU implementation of drastic policies and overcoming many barriers in market should be necessary. One idea which leads to a path of low carbon intensity is to adopt an energy storage concept. One of the reasons that the efficiency of the conventional energy systems has been relatively low is ascribed to lacking of energy storage subsystem. Most of the past energy systems, for example, air-conditioning system, do not have energy storage part and the system usually operates with low energy efficiency. Firstly, the effect of reducing CO{sub 2} emissions was also examined if the LHTES subsystems were incorporated in all the residential and building air-conditioning systems. Another field of application of the LHTES is of course transportation. Future vehicle will be electric or hybrid vehicle. However, these vehicles will need considerable energy for air-conditioning. The LHTES system will provide enough energy for this purpose by storing nighttime electricity or rejected heat from the radiator or motor. Melting and solidification of phase change material (PCM) in a capsule is of practical importance in latent heat thermalenergy storage (LHTES) systems which are considered to be very promising to reduce a peak demand of electricity in the summer season and also reduce carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions. Two melting modes are involved in melting in capsules. One is close-contact melting between the solid bulk and the capsule wall, and another is natural convection melting in the liquid (melt) region. Close-contact melting processes for a single enclosure have been solved using several

Additive manufacturing (AM) holds great potential for improving materials efficiency, reducing life-cycle impacts, and enabling greater engineering functionality compared to conventional manufacturing (CM) processes. For these reasons, AM has been adopted by a growing number of aircraft component manufacturers to achieve more lightweight, cost-effective designs. This study estimates the net changes in life-cycle primary energy and greenhouse gas emissions associated with AM technologies for lightweight metallic aircraft components through the year 2050, to shed light on the environmental benefits of a shift from CM to AM processes in the U.S. aircraft industry. A systems modeling framework is presented, with integratesmore » engineering criteria, life-cycle environmental data, and aircraft fleet stock and fuel use models under different AM adoption scenarios. Estimated fleetwide life-cycle primary energy savings in a rapid adoption scenario reach 70-174 million GJ/year in 2050, with cumulative savings of 1.2-2.8 billion GJ. Associated cumulative emission reduction potentials of CO2e were estimated at 92.8-217.4 million metric tons. About 95% of the savings is attributed to airplane fuel consumption reductions due to lightweighting. In addition, about 4050 tons aluminum, 7600 tons titanium and 8100 tons of nickel alloys could be saved per year in 2050. The results indicate a significant role of AM technologies in helping society meet its long-term energy use and GHG emissions reduction goals, and highlight barriers and opportunities for AM adoption for the aircraft industry.« less

variety of areas from intermittent solar energy harvesting to thermal management of transient, high- flux heat loads. A variety of passive materials...have been developed and employed for TES including paraffin waxes, water tanks, and low-capacity reversible metal hydrides, among others. Paraffin...example materials that exceed 1 MJ/kg are water (liquid-vapor) and metal hydride (MgH2). Regarding water , the slow kinetics of boiling/evaporation

A recoverable payload instrumented for twilight airglow studies was launched by an Aerobee 150 from the White Sands Test Range on Feb. 8, 1971 at 13.56 UT. The payload included a low energy electron spectrometer (HARP) and a cylindrical Langmuir probe. The HARP electron spectrometer is a new device designed to make high resolution differential electron flux measurements. Measurements of ionospheric electron energy distribution in the range from about 0.2 to 4.0 eV are presented.

Equilibrium segregation of Ni to the interface of a solid Pb/graphite and Au/graphite was studied using a solid state wetting approach and the crater edge profiling technique on a scanning Auger microprobe (SAM). All experiments were performed under ultra high vacuum (UHV) to reduce the effects due to surface adsorption of impurities. For the Pb/graphite system, increasing amounts of Ni ranging from 0 to 0.2wt% Ni added to Pb were found to systematically lower the contact angle for samples equilibrated at 285 ^circC. No significant surface segregation of Ni was observed at the Pb surface. The reduction of the contact angle was therefore attributed entirely to the lowering of the interfacial energy by interfacial adsorption of Ni. The interfacial energy and interfacial Ni concentration were obtained as a function of bulk Ni content. The presence of excess Ni at the interface was also determined using the crater edge profiling technique on the SAM for various bulk concentrations of Ni in Pb. The temperature dependence of the segregation process was also studied using the solid state wetting approach. The contact angle of Pb(Ni)/graphite was found to vary as a function of temperature for a given Ni content. No temperature dependence was observed in the case of pure Pb/graphite. The change in interfacial energy and the interfacial Ni concentration were obtained as a function of temperature from thermodynamic considerations, and from that the enthalpy and the entropy of interfacial segregation were determined. For the Au/graphite system at 850^circC, addition of 15at%Ni to Au caused a reduction of contact angle by 7.8^circ with accompanying reduction in interfacial energy. Ni was found to segregate to both the free Au surface as well as to the Au/graphite interface. In addition C was also found to segregate to the Au surface thus lowering the surface energy. The modified surface energy was considered in the determination of the interfacial energy and interfacial Ni